Rebirth
by Canvas-PaintedWithDreams
Summary: Set a little in 3x22 and after. Elena's transitioned, got all her memories back and is about to change her choice. Stefan and Caroline are digging up some unexpected feelings. Elijah shows up with a news to shock the gang and Katherine returns to add a new member to the gang. Klaus is stirring up trouble for them all. Bonnie's going rouge. Better summary inside. :D
1. Company

**Set in 3x22. Katherine shows up. And basically follows the same stuff that happened in the episode? Let me make this clear that this is a Delena, Steroline, Kalijah and sometimes even Klaroline story. At the first half, you're probably going to see a little bit of Stelena but I assure you, Delena will own and rule as it progresses. Enjoy (:**

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"Call me if you cough up a lung," murmured Damon, trying to be humorous in the last possible hour of if his life. 160 something years. He wasn't exactly sure anymore. Oddly, he felt too young to die. He smirked at his thought and stood up slowly, as if trying to save as much energy as possible to die.

When he turned around, there was a girl standing in front of him. She had soft, pale bronzy skin, chocolate colored hair that hung over her small shoulders, dark brown eyes that looked like two drops of chocolate. He felt his eyes deceive him. _Maybe I'm hallucinating._ He thought and stared at the girl.

"Elena?" Damon asked finally and used his vampire speed to go over to her, standing only inches away. She looked down at his lips and then looked back up into his blue eyes.

"Guess again."

Damon stepped back, disappointed to know that it was only Katherine, Elena's psycho bitch doppelganger. "What are you doing Katherine?" he asked, annoyed and still disappointed.

It was awful enough to not be able to say goodbye to Elena but to look at her doppelganger and know that she is half the person Elena is, was the worst possible way to die. At least as he died, he would remember how beautiful Elena looked.

"Klaus is dead," started Katherine as she walked around the coffin. "I've been keeping tracking on everything going on in Mystic Falls. Followed you here. Thought you might not want to die alone."

There was some honesty in Katherine's usually deceitful eyes. She was half right. It was better to die with someone he knew and once did love more than anything in the world rather than die alone.

"Did he create our bloodline?" asked Damon. He hoped that Klaus was only lying. Katherine may have known. He could only hope.  
Katherine kept her eyes down and walked over to Damon. "I don't know."

Disappointment from both vampires filled the air, making it thicker than it already was. If Klaus was telling the truth, they both were truly going to die.  
Then nearly fifteen minutes of them both just standing around and staring blankly at the coffin, summing up all the events of their human and vampire life, their thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Damon's phone.

He picked up from the floor and answered.

**Katherine's POV**

While Damon was on the phone; Katherine walked off towards the storage unit and sat down on the couch as soon as she saw it. Twenty two minutes passed since Klaus officially died and she found out about it. No changes. She wasn't sure what exactly happened when other vampires of the same bloodline died.

Katherine imagined feeling weak, tired, sick. She imagined puking or craving more blood or her skin turning from its bronze tone to the grey tone with her nerves sticking out. The thought of her body being like that made her want to vomit.

Her head shot up suddenly and looked around herself. She felt the presence of another. She ran towards where Damon was and stopped, sealing the gasp that begged to escape.

"Damon," whispered Katherine and he turned immediately. He was still on the phone with Elena and for some reason he didn't show as much surprise as she did.

"Goodbye Elena." said Damon and put down his phone and looked at Alaric.

Just as Katherine was about to save herself and run of there, Alaric ran toward her and snapped her neck.

She woke nearly half an hour later. Her eyes gathered light, creating fragmented images of Damon holding Alaric in his arms. For the first time in her life, she saw Damon Salvatore in tears. She wasn't sure what to do. Katherine Pierce had never been the best shoulder to cry on.

**Damon's POV**

He thought the worst pain was over. He thought with Elena choosing Stefan, dying with Katherine, his only friend Alaric being a vampire, Rose dying, becoming a vampire, what could be worse? But this. Was truly the worst possible thing that could happen?

_Why? God? Why._ Damon cried. Alaric's dead body lay peacefully in his arms and he cried over it. Alaric was dead. The only best friend he ever had in his entire life was dead. Truly dead. Which lead to the heart breaking fact that the girl that he loved the most in his entire existence, the girl who could hate him and yet be loved by him, the girl changed him and the girl who brought out his humanity was dead. Elena Gilbert, the strong and beautiful Elena Gilbert: dead.

"Damon?" called out a voice and he lifted up his head, hopeful as he heard this voice only to be brought back down when he knew that it wasn't Elena. It was just Katherine.

She came over and sat down next to him. He was too numb to care about the fact that she was there. He didn't really want her around but he didn't want to be alone either. The fact that he had to break down like this in front of someone who he wasn't even sure still had some humanity was something that was pissing him off a bit.

"I have to go back to Mystic Falls." said Damon. He didn't even sound like himself. He practically croaked out the sentence.

"I'm going with you." Katherine stated and she stood up. "I'll take Ric's body and put it in the back of the trunk. I'm sure you'll want to give him a proper burial."

_Why was Katherine being so nice?_ Damon thought, raising a brow. He didn't disagree or argue with her. For two reasons: firstly, she was right. Secondly, he didn't really have the strength to argue with her.

Then without another word, Katherine lifted Ric's body like it was paper and ran off to the car. He kept an ear out to make sure that she didn't run off with the body or drive away in his car. Though for some reason, he had a feeling it wasn't in Katherine's hidden agenda.

Damon stood up and all the energy he gathered to stand up drained out of him slowly. He felt weak. Utterly and completely weak. He didn't want to do anything. He wanted to go to a bar and drink away all his stupid, damn feelings this was his fault. He should have stayed with Elena. He should have protected her.

The god awful tears stung his eyes and he had to switch off his feelings just to run off towards the car. Katherine was leaning against his navy blue Camaro. They slipped into the car and drove off as fast as they could to reach Elena.

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**Ah well that's the first chapter. Review? (:**


	2. Reborn

**Well. This chapter is longer than the other one. Enjoy. (:**

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**Elena's POV**

Her head lifted up, eyes fluttered open and she struggled to breathe, gasping continuously. Then her head rested back down and she was breathing much more normally now but strangely, she didn't need to breathe at all.

Damon and Meredith rushed into the dark room Elena was in, which made her question herself, _where the hell am I_? Turning her head around slowly on the cold, metal slab she was laying on top of, she saw Stefan who was sitting with teary eyes, wet cheeks and his mouth hanging open slightly. His eyes were fixated on her; he was staring as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Elena..." whispered Meredith and she suddenly covered her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was going to fall apart right there and then.

Elena opened her mouth to speak but as she did, her mouth felt unusually dry. She gulped in some air, though it was unnecessary, she felt a burning sensation inside her throat. She could suddenly smell something that she believed would taste delicious, salty, something that would take away the dryness in her mouth. She could feel a number of heightened emotions: frustration, confusion, fury and most of all, this lost haze in which she wanted to ask so many questions but felt unable to.

"Stefan?" finally Elena croaked out. Stefan shook himself out of his shocked state and stood up, leaning over Elena, taking her cold hand in his. Her hand was so terribly cold. _Why is it so cold?_

"I am so sorry Elena...I should've...I'm sorry," Stefan began apologizing and the tears that had looked frozen in his eyes fell down onto her cheek.

"Why are you sorry Stefan? Tell me what happened." She asked, able to speak normally now but every time she spoke, she felt her tongue becoming drier and drier.

Stefan stepped away from her, letting go of her hand and allowed her to sit up. Her eyes shot over to Damon, who was standing next to Meredith, staring at her just as Stefan had been staring at her before. Except his eyes didn't have tears. They were more worried and the rest of his face was expressionless.

Since everyone around her was failing to tell her anything, Elena closed her eyes and tried to remember the last few moments she had before she woke up in the dark room.

And she suddenly wished she hadn't done so. Elena gasped, her eyes opening again and everything, all her memories of the moments before she woke up flowed back into her mind

Elena was in a car, with Matt. The water was rising up to the ceiling of the car. Matt knocked out faster than she had. She struggled to get out. Stefan suddenly came. He saved Matt on Elena's saying. Then the worst happened.

"I'm supposed to be dead." The words slipped out of Elena's mouth. It was what everyone was thinking and she only just said it out loud. Damon tore his stare away from her, tears fell down Meredith's cheeks and Stefan looked down at the ground.

In the silence, everyone was thinking about what was to come next but Elena, she was thinking about now. She could feel everything in her once fragile body get heightened. She could hear better, her vision seemed clearer than before, she felt stronger and powerful but still weak. She could feel her body shutting down and weakening itself. She knew why this was. A person would be a fool not to realize that she, in transition, was craving the one thing that all vampires desperately wanted: blood.

"You have to get her out of here," said Meredith, breaking the silence. "Only two or three of the nurses know that Elena Gilbert is dead, you can compel them later. Right now, you have to get her out of here." There was panic in Meredith's voice as she spoke.

Damon and Stefan exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. Stefan helped Elena get off the slab and with both the Salvatore brothers on her side; they ran out of the hospital and were near Damon's car.

Elena felt a little dizzy because she could still smell the blood from all the way here. She wanted it so badly. Every part of her body was screaming and urging for her to go and feed off someone but Damon and Stefan were keeping her in control.

Stefan put Elena into the backseat while he and Damon stood outside to speak. Once she was in the car, she realized that she wasn't alone. In the front, passenger's seat, there was a replica of her. Except this replica had curly hair.

"Katherine?" Elena muttered and for some reason, she felt angry. This anger was stronger than the anger she felt when she was human.

Katherine opened her mouth to speak but Damon and Stefan got in the car, they both didn't seem very happy. Katherine turned around and looked out of the window. Stefan didn't seem surprised that she was there. _Damon must have told him._ Elena thought and stayed silent for a couple of minutes.

Damon drove over the speed limit. Elena could tell that he was angry. She couldn't see any reason why he should be angry. She knew better than anyone that Damon wanted Elena to turn so that he could have him forever. Then again, she also knew that Damon wanted Elena to be happy. He knew that she didn't ever want to be a vampire and yet, here they were.

Elena let out a sigh and spoke, feeling the silence become a little awkward. "Where are we going?"

Both brothers opened their mouths to speak but it was Stefan who answered. "The boarding house."

"Where's Matt? And everyone else?"

This time, Damon answered. "Matt's in the hospital, he's fine. Caroline's home with Jeremy. Bonnie hasn't answered her phone since she left the storage unit."

Elena nodded at both the answers. The tension in the car that she had tried to less didn't change a bit. She realized that Damon didn't mention everyone. He left out one person.

"Where's Alaric?" If she was dead, then that meant_...No...Ric._ A few nights ago when Alaric said he wouldn't complete the transition, she was nearly broken. After losing so many people in her life, she nearly lost Alaric too. Then he turned into Evilaric vampire. But he was still there, not dead dead, just vampire dead. Now...he would truly be dead.

"He's in the trunk." confessed Katherine after sharing a look with Damon.

Elena stayed silent and bit her lip, eventually making it bleed a little. Stefan took her hand and caressed her knuckles with his thumb. He looked so worried and she couldn't possibly imagine what he would be feeling. He, like Damon, knew that Elena didn't want to be a vampire and he also knew that if she chose not to complete the transition, then he would truly lose her forever.  
_What am I going to do?_ Thought Elena. She wasn't sure whether to complete the transition or not. Everything she wanted in her life was now just a lost opportunity. She wouldn't be able to go to stay in one place for too long, she couldn't have kids and she would never grow old on a porch in a rocking chair. She wanted to be a grandmother, maybe even a great grandmother. She was never going to have the life that she always dreamed of having. But choosing not to complete the transition meant that she would hurt everyone in her life. She would be leaving Jeremy all on his own and that wasn't fair to him. He suffered enough. Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Stefan...and even Damon. How were they going to deal with losing her?

A vampire. Could it really be so bad? There were many outcomes of her choosing to complete the transition. She could be a ripper, like Stefan occasionally is. Or she could learn to control it, like Damon. Or she could lose her humanity for good, little like Katherine.

Elena's thoughts were interrupted and she felt dizzy again. The burning in her throat grew and she felt a pain in her gums. She smelt it. Blood. It was near.

They were at the Salvatore boarding house. The blood was most likely from the blood bags in the house. She could smell the blood from all the way here.

She wanted it more than anything in the world. Would she ever learn to control it if she became a vampire?

"Come on Elena," Stefan said in a low voice and he helped her out of the car. He gave her a weak smile, trying to stay strong when she wasn't.

Damon and Katherine walked side by side into the house and Elena couldn't feel a tad bit jealous. She was aware that she chose Stefan over Damon but it was in the spur of the moment. She was thinking of then not forever. But she was telling the truth. She never unfell for Stefan.

The thoughts of loving both brothers made her dizzy again and even weaker than before. She could feel her body cry out to her, begging to drink blood and feel strong again. She could feel death nearing her.

When they entered the house, Stefan made sure she was comfortable on the couch and sat with her, holding her hands, trying to keep them warm.

"I'm going to go get Caroline and Bonnie, they would want to see you. Damon and Katherine are going to go get Jeremy," Stefan explained. He was forcing the words out. "He would want to see you. Just rest Elena, we'll be back soon okay?"

Elena nodded and lay down on the couch. Stefan put a red, velvet blanket over her, which reminded her more of blood and then the three of them were gone, leaving her alone in the house.

She tried to sleep, she was tired and weak but every time she closed her eyes, she was afraid that this time, she wouldn't wake up.

**Stefan's POV**

With his head spinning out of control and his heart racing to get to Caroline's house, his mind thought of only one thing: Elena.

Stefan felt guiltier than anyone. He should have saved her first. He should have protected her. He could have done it if he didn't stay to argue with her on saving Matt. This was his fault. It was his fault that he fucking respected Elena's stupid choices. If he had been more like Damon...

And that's where he stopped his thoughts. More like Damon.

_But in the end, I'm going to be the one to keep her alive_. Those were Damon's words from a few months ago. Damon had done everything he possibly could to have saved her. That was the worst part for Stefan. To admit that Damon could have saved both Matt and Elena.

Stefan stopped his car and ran to Caroline's door, which took him half a second.

Caroline appeared at the door to his first knock and opened the door immediately. Her cheeks were swollen. Her curly blonde hair was tied up in a bun and she was wearing slacks and a grey sweater. He had never seen Caroline in such an unfashionable state.

"Stefan?" Caroline acknowledged and she wiped her eyes. Without a word, Stefan put his arms around her neck and hugged her. Cold tears drops rolled down his cheeks to her shoulder, down her sweater. She didn't hesitate to hug him back and cry with him. They both lost people they loved with all their hearts.

For Stefan, he knew that if Elena chose to, he could have her forever but for Caroline, Tyler was gone forever.

"I heard about Elena. Jeremy called me. I am so sorry." Caroline sobbed.

Then Stefan let her go and stepped back. He took in a deep breath and couldn't dare himself to look at her. He would never be able to forgive himself for doing this to Elena.

"Elena's not dead Caroline." muttered Stefan, keeping his eyes down at the white porch floor.

Caroline gasped and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "Thank god!" She looked at him carefully. "But then why are you crying Stefan?"  
Stefan's mouth hung open and he had processed the words he wanted to say in his head perfectly but he couldn't say them out loud. He closed his mouth and took a deep breath, hoping he would be able to say it this time. And he did. "She's in transition."

Caroline's covered her gasp and sob with her mouth and she stepped back, nearly falling but she held on to the door. Another batch of tears streamed down their faces and this time, Caroline hugged him tightly.

They didn't speak, they just stood silently, hugging each other and in the silence, much was being said. Stefan gave his condolences for Tyler and Caroline secretly prayed Elena would complete the transition.

Caroline let go of him and said, "Can I go see her?"

Stefan nodded and Caroline went inside to change. Slowly, he walked towards his car and focused on Elena. If she chose not to complete the transition and die, then Stefan would take responsibility over Jeremy. It was the best way he could honor her. He would protect Jeremy in a way that he was unable to protect Elena.

Caroline appeared, dressed in a white t-shirt, red jacket and black jeans. They got into the car and drove away quickly.

"We should get Bonnie too." Stefan said as he made a turn. It was a thirty minute drive from Caroline's house to the boarding house. He hoped that seeing Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy, Elena would choose to stay with them and complete the transition. And if she didn't, then they deserved to be there with her.

Caroline took out her phone and dialed a number. "I don't know where Bonnie is. I called Jamie and he said that he has no idea where both Bonnie and Abby are." Then she put down her phone and put it back in her pocket. "Bonnie's phone went straight to voicemail."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed together. Even Damon had mentioned that Bonnie had been missing since she left the storage unit. Where could she possibly be?

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**Things will get interesting later :/ Stick around? Oh and review :D **


	3. Transitioned

**Chapter 5 :D I'm updating as fast as I can. Enjoy (:**

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**Bonnie's POV**

"Caroline just called again." Bonnie sighed and threw her phone on the couch. She paced in front of it.

After meeting with Tyler/Klaus, she came over to Abby's house and told Abby everything. She didn't know who else to go to. If Damon and Stefan found out, they would be furious with her. Not that she really cared about what they thought but then Elena wouldn't be very happy.

No one but Abby would understand why Bonnie did what she did. For Damon and Stefan, all they cared about was protecting Elena. All Elena wanted was to protect everyone else. Bonnie did that for her. She protected everyone.

"Stop pacing Bonnie. You're going to make a hole in the carpet," said Jamie. He came over to her and stopped her from pacing. They looked at each other and he hugged her tightly.

"The witches won't be very pleased with you." Abby spoke for the first time since Bonnie had told her everything.

Bonnie let go of Jamie and the anger inside began to build up and it reflected in her voice. "I don't care about what the witches want anymore. I did the right thing. For the time being, I've saved everyone."

"No Bonnie!" Abby shouted. Bonnie stepped back, a little scared now. She had never seen Abby angry before. "You are a witch! A servant of nature. Vampires are an abomination." Now she was sobbing. Abby covered her face with her hands, ashamed that she was a vampire.

This brought Bonnie to tears and she embraced her mother. "I'm sorry Abby."

"You're going to make this right, Bonnie." Abby whispered into Bonnie's ear, almost inaudible.

Bonnie nodded but there was no way she was going to undo what she did.

**Elena's POV**

_She just walked out of the bathroom and into her room. Damon was sitting by the window. He looked at, gave her a small smile and said, "Cute pj's."_

_"I'm tired Damon." She replies, looking away from him and playing with her hands. He stands up and walks over to her, between his fingers there is a long, silver necklace hanging and she instantly recognizes it._

_"Brought you this," he says, holding it up for her to look at. She smiles in relief._

_"I thought that was gone," she says and gives him a weak smile. "Thank you." She reaches for it but Damon pulls back. Her eyebrows furrow. "Please give it back," she adds a demanding tone into her voice._

_"I just have to say something," Damon says in a low voice and steps forward and automatically, she steps back. She doesn't like where this is going._

_"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?" She asks, a little furious and confused._

_Damon pauses to think of what to say. He looks down and looks up at her and then says, "Because what I'm about to say," he pauses again, thinking of what to say, his eyebrows are pulled together and he continues. "Is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life?"_

_She knew where this was going and she tries to stop it. "Damon, don't go there."_

_Damon steps forward again, standing three inches away from her face and she adds a little distance by taking once step back._  
_"I just need to say it once, you just need to hear it." The tone in Damon's voice changes and he takes a minute before he speaks again. She listens carefully. "I love you, Elena." Her mouth opens a little to speak but it's like she's forgotten how to speak at all. "And it's because I love you, I can't be selfish with you." Damon looks as if he's going to cry and all she does is just stand there and listen. Unable to even move. "Why you can't know this, I don't deserve you." He takes a moment. "But my brother does." He gives a slight nod and now his eyes were tearing. She felt like a horrible person to have just stood there. She should have hugged him._

_Damon kisses her on the forehead and smoothes her hair with his hand, sliding his fingers down her face. "God I wish you didn't have to forget this." He looks into her eyes and she knows what's about to happen next. She wants to say no, but doesn't. A tear drop falls from his electric blue eyes and her heart broke. "But you do." He says and he's gone._

Elena wakes up with a gasp and sits up immediately. Bringing her knees close to her chest, with her eyebrows pulled together and her mind fumbling about what she had just dreamt or what she had just remembered. She shook her head. She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't.

_He said it before...before he was dying he said it and I just stood there. How did I just stand there and not say anything? _Elena beat herself up. She ran a hand through her straight, slightly wet hair and lay back down, pulling the blanket close to her chin. _Why did you make me forget? _ She questioned him inside her head and just as she was about to go back to sleep, she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Elena!"

She sat up and saw Jeremy run towards her. Katherine and Damon were right behind him. Jeremy fell to his knees and sat on them near the couch.

"Jer..." She whimpered and hugged him but pulled back when the smell of blood tortured her.  
Damon came over in a second and pulled Jeremy back. "You might want to keep your distance Jeremy. Remember what I told you?"

Jeremy angrily pushed Damon's hand off and walked away from him and out the door. Damon shot a look at Katherine and she nodded.

"On it," she said before she followed Jeremy.

Then Damon and Elena were left to be alone together. She didn't like that they were alone but she knew that she had to confront him about the compulsion. It didn't affect her choice because she knew that Damon loved her. Whether it was a little bit before she realized it or not. Stefan was still there first and she had strong feelings for him. It didn't change anything but he needed to know that she knew.

Damon sat down on the couch, beside her and smiled. "How're you feeling?" He asked.

Elena ignored his question and moved onto more pressing matters. "I remember."

His look dropped to the floor. She put her hand on his chin and lifted it up, forcing him to look at her. "You told me that you love me, after you and Stefan saved me from Rose and Elijah," She explained what she remembered so that he would know exactly what it was. "Thank you."

Damon looked confused and he stared, waiting for her to explain further. "If I had known before, then the only thing you would have done is confuse me. Thank you, for not doing that." She moved her hand and looked away from him.

It didn't matter. She loves Stefan. It was always going to be Stefan. _Was it? _

When Elena turned her head to look at Damon, he was gone. She closed her eyes and she could feel the tears sting them. _No. I made the right choice. _She thought but she felt hollow inside. She tried to shake off the feeling but it stayed and she felt it would always stay with her.

Elena blinked open her eyes as Jeremy stormed into the house. She saw he had a pocket knife in his hand.

"What's going on Jeremy?" She asked and stood up.

Jeremy stood in front of her and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not going to lose you Elena." He told her against her forehead and before she knew it, he pulled the blade down the side of his neck. "You have to feed. I don't care whether you're a vampire or a human. I will not lose you."

Elena stared at the blood that streamed down his neck, staining his striped shirt. Her gums hurt again and this time, she had no control and the fangs came out. "No…" She whimpered but the urge was too strong for her to resist. The nerves around her eyes came out, bloodshot red eyes. Jeremy grabbed Elena's hair and pulled her mouth closer to his neck. And her fangs bit into his neck, draining the blood out of him with no control over what she was doing.

The taste of blood was so gratifying, Elena just couldn't get enough. She had a firm grip on Jeremy's brown, soft hair and with her neck tilted slightly; she was able to bite into it with ease. She knew it was wrong, she could hear her heart call out to her to stop but the rest of her body wanted the blood too much. It made her feel strong, powerful. She'd felt weak and fragile for so long that this new sense of power was taking control of her and she didn't care because she loved the feeling.

Suddenly, Elena's mouth was pulled away forcefully from Jeremy's neck. She didn't have enough time to use her new found speed and ran away. Then _snap. _Elena dropped instantaneously on to the carpet.

**Katherine's POV**

This was the most unexpected thing that had happened ever since Katherine had got here. When she had gone out to get Jeremy, he stabbed her with a syringe that was filled with vervain. _I'm going to kill that son of a bitch. _She thought as she stood up. Fortunately, the vervain didn't affect her as much as he wanted it to.

Katherine ran into the house and had to contain her shock. Elena was drinking Jeremy's blood. For the first five seconds, she stood and stared at the scene. She didn't know what to do. Honestly, she wanted Jeremy dead for stabbing her with vervain but that wouldn't do her any good to serve her hidden agenda.

The reason why she was back was because she was done running. Mystic Falls was the only place where her heart had felt truly at home and that was because of Damon and Stefan. She didn't want to be alone anymore. That's why she wanted to turn the Salvatores, so that she would never have to be alone again. All her life, she'd been loveless and alone. Loneliness was the worst feeling in the world and she was through with that. She needed a place to stay and if she wanted that, then she needed to be nice to Damon, which meant being nice to everyone Elena cared about, which unfortunately included Jeremy.

Running quietly behind Elena, Katherine pulled her away and ripped Elena's mouth of Jeremy's neck and snapped her neck. Then she grabbed the body and placed Elena on the couch. Jeremy looked as if he was going to drop right there but Katherine swiftly cut herself and fed him her blood.

"What the hell happened here?" A loud voice came out from the door and Katherine nearly dropped Jeremy to the ground but another pair of arms came and caught him.

"Damon," whispered Katherine and she stepped away. He put Jeremy on the couch beside Elena and put gauze on his neck where he had cut himself and Elena had bit him.

Katherine was about to go away for a couple of hours but Stefan appeared in front of her and she had no choice but to stay. His hand wrapped around her little neck and she couldn't breathe.

"What did you do, Katherine?" Stefan growled and she would have usually found it sexy if she wasn't suffocating.

"Nothing." She gasped. Damon pushed Stefan away and threw him to the wall. Taking quick, deep breaths, she stepped back, afraid that Damon was going to do worse but thankful that he had saved her instead.

Turning around, Katherine saw Caroline near Elena and then going over to Jeremy to check his pulse.

"He's still alive and she's fine too." Caroline confirmed and went over to Stefan.

Damon looked at Katherine; he didn't have any emotion in his crystal blue eyes, just a lot of emptiness. She couldn't imagine how he felt. She knew that he'd been hurting over herself for 145 years and now Elena, whom he never had and who he wanted desperately, was now a vampire. Damon, more than Stefan – and Katherine knew this for a fact – loved Elena more but the thing was, when things don't go the way Damon wants it to, he makes mistakes and it usually ends up pushing Elena away.

"What happened, Katherine?" asked Damon, keeping his voice calm but she could hear the anger and the hurt hidden in his voice.

"Jeremy vervained me and when I came back, Elena was feeding on him." Katherine huffed and twisted a strand of her chocolate hair, uninterested in Jeremy or Elena's condition.

Damon took a small glance towards Elena, in which Katherine could see the care and love for her. It was a sort of love that he didn't even have for Katherine back in 1864 or in the 145 years he'd spent searching for her. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Damon and Stefan were meant to be hers and now they were both strung along by her doppelganger wench.

Katherine rolled her eyes. Damon pulled her aside and they went outside. Caroline was too busy tending to Stefan to care about Damon and Katherine.

Once they were outside, Damon gave Katherine a look that she failed to understand or at least she pretended not to understand.

"Why are you here, Katherine?" Finally Damon demanded and she smirked.

"Klaus is dead, Elena's a vampire, which means things are about to get very interesting in Mystic Falls," she giggled and turned around, looking around the large front yard of the Salvatore Boarding house. It was the first time, in a long time that she got to enjoy the cool night breeze with the bright stars pasted on the black canvas called the sky. She closed her eyes and allowed the calmness overwhelm her.

"You're not welcome here and you can understand what I'd do to people who are not welcome here." Damon snarled, grasping Katherine's arm and turned her around harshly. "Leave now."

Katherine hissed and kicked Damon's lower abdomen with her foot, throwing him across the yard. She ran over to him and leaned over his body. "You can't make me leave." She stated boldly.

Suddenly, Damon grabbed her neck and threw her to the grass, taking advantage; he leaned over her this time, still holding her neck tightly. It was tighter than Stefan's grip.

"Why are you here Katherine?" He asked once more. He loosened his grip a bit so that she could talk.

"Because I have nowhere else to go." Damon looked deeply into her eyes, trying to find the well hidden lies and was genuinely surprised when he couldn't find any. It was the truth. She didn't have anywhere else to go. Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan – they were the closest thing she had to a family since forever.

Letting go of her neck, Damon lay down beside her and gazed at the starry sky. He let out a sigh and sat up. "You can stay," he said. "But you're under my leash. You're staying with me, not Stefan. You understand?"

Katherine turned her head a little to look at him. There was so much suffering when a person looked at him. It was all over his face. She wondered if she was the one of the few people who actually noticed. He always hid how he felt because he needed to feel safe. She knew Elena did and Elena even tried to help but she typically ended up hurting him. Katherine on the other hand, she knew how to read Damon because she had spend so long studying him to make him fall in love with her, to desire her. She felt the tiniest bit guilty. Despite popular belief that Katherine Pierce was a soulless, heartbreaking bitch, she still had a heart and it wasn't a lie that she cared about Damon or Stefan. She did, almost as much as she cared about her mother and father.

"Thank you, Damon," whispered Katherine and pecked his cheek softly. He looked at her, the suffering was lessened but it was still there and she feared it always would stay with him. He gave her a slight nod and went back into the house when he heard Elena wake up.

Katherine stayed in the yard, trying to count the stars. She sighed as she failed every time, losing count. She took out her phone and dialed a number that she hadn't dialed in the longest time. Though this person who this number belonged to, was someone that needed to make an appearance. This person needed to enter the lives of all in Mystic Falls because it was at last, the perfect moment.

"Hello Victoria," Katherine greeted smugly after a while of the phone ringing. "I think it's time you met your half sister."

* * *

**And now officially, Elena Gilbert is a strong and amazing vampire. I don't really expect this to happen in the show but hey, a girl can only dream right? :P**

**I will hopefully add the next chapter soon. I just want to mention that there will be a few original characters but Victoria won't be around for too long and I need to bring another witch and there will also be someone who was around before that will come back (: Stay tuned. Review please? Thank you.**


	4. Compulsions

**Caroline's POV**

While Stefan was sitting next to Elena, caressing her hand and gently touching her face, asking her constantly if she felt okay and when Damon gazed at her and asked how she was feeling or if she wanted anything, Caroline couldn't help but feel a little jealous.  
Tyler was dead. She and the rest of her friends were stuck in a calamitous fate in which they lost everyone they truly cared about. They couldn't even blame anyone.

But it wasn't just Tyler or Alaric or her dad. Caroline's gaze dropped quickly to the floor as she thought of who else she lost. _Klaus…_She thought sadly.

Klaus was the reason why she was still alive. No matter how awful things he had done to hurt all of them, Klaus had saved Caroline's life on two occasions and she would never be able to forget that. Truth be told, she even felt an insignificant amount of attraction towards him. Aside from the evil-hybrid-army building side of him, there were others sides to him. He was caring, artistic, and very handsome and the English accent was just another bonus to the list of things that attracted her. Even the evil side attracted her a little – who could resist a bad boy and seeing Caroline's history with men, she was better off with a bad boy. The only good, decent guy she'd dated was Matt and everyone knew how that ended.

Guiltily, Caroline tried not to think about her attraction towards Klaus. It was because of him that they all had suffered so much. It felt terrible to be attracted to him.

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked, interrupting Caroline's superfluous thoughts.

"No one knows," answered Caroline, walking towards the chair and sitting down. The whole day had worn her out and she hadn't had a drop of blood in the last eight hours. "But we can worry about that later. How do you feel Elena?"

Elena put her hand on her forehead, closed her eyes and shook her head. Then when she reopened them, there were tears in her eyes. "I nearly killed Jeremy and now I'm…" She stopped herself. She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

Caroline frowned. Like everyone else, she knew that Elena didn't want to be a vampire. None of them truly wanted to be a vampire. It was forced upon each one of them.

Katherine returned and stood in the hallway, in front of the doorway that led to the parlor where everyone was at. She rolled her eyes at how everyone was fussing over how Elena was doing.

"Can I just go upstairs and rest or something?" Elena mumbled and she stood up, not really bothering about getting permission from the others. Stefan stood up with her, nodded and then Elena was gone.

_Poor Jeremy. _Caroline thought as her eyes fell onto his still unconscious body. The past year had been the worst for him. He lost his parents, his aunt and uncle and Elena. Caroline understood why Jeremy would make Elena feed. He didn't want to be alone and she was the only family he had, how do you let go of that?

Caroline stood up and walked over to the door, feeling tired again. She wanted to go home to her mom and tell her about what happened, except for the part where Tyler died. "Stefan," she called out before leaving. "I sort of need a ride home."

Stefan was looking at the staircase where Elena had disappeared to go upstairs. He was still worried about her, especially now that she completed the transition. He sighed, nodded and they were both out the door and in his car. She was extremely grateful to their vampire speed that helped her get things done faster than she would have when she was human.

After several minutes of driving, Caroline spoke. "Stefan. Are you alright?" She asked but she knew the answer to the question. She just needed to ask anyway. She wanted to be there for him like he had been there for her during her transition. He was her friend, not only that. She cared about him.

Stefan didn't speak. He instead bit his lip and smiled weakly.

"You know I'm here for you right? You're my friend and if you need anything, don't you ever hesitate to tell me okay?" Caroline told him softly and then looked out the window to see that she was nearly home.

All the lights were switched on in the house so she assumed that her mom was already home. It was strange though, she never got in this early. _Oh well…_

Stefan stopped the car and as Caroline was about to get out, he took her hand and stopped her. "Thank you, Caroline." She looked down at his hand holding hers. She felt something bubbling in her stomach as she held his hand. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles and finally let go.

"I'll come by tomorrow." She told him and got out. He stayed until she entered the house and then left.

A smile small formed on Caroline's lips and she dropped her jacket to the ground, taking small steps towards the fridge where she kept a few blood bags stored. She yawned and when she reached the fridge, she stopped. He'd HHfor

Her movements were at a halt, she wasn't even breathing. With her heart pounding against her chest, she glanced towards her right and saw nothing. _Maybe I'm just imagining things. _

Caroline heaved a sigh, opened the fridge and as she bent down to grab an O positive, her body turned at the speed of sound and grasped the neck of something…or someone. She couldn't believe her tear filled eyes. She blinked precisely twenty times before she let go of the person who she believed to be dead. _Tyler._

**Kyler's POV**

Caroline: the most exquisite, strong and exultant person he had met in his existence. She stood before him, bamboozled by his presence. Then he had to remind himself that it wasn't him she was so shocked to see, it was the body he was occupying.

Klaus in Tyler's body. He didn't like it, especially since Tyler had gotten stronger and was fighting so hard to get rid of Klaus. He just needed to see her one last time before he took off with his body and the blood bags with Elena's blood.

"Caroline," he murmured and cringed at the sound of his voice. He was used to hearing his English accent that Tyler's voice got in his nerves. He stepped forward to stand closer to her and without a warning, Caroline was hugging him. Klaus smiled brightly, he loved the feeling of her warm body against him and when they had kissed earlier, he couldn't even explain how amazing he felt.

"You're alive!" Caroline cried. Klaus wondered if she even cared whether this meant that Klaus was alive too. Whether she had felt even the smallest amount of affection for him because deep inside, he fancied her more than he could put to words. He sighed on her neck and let go of her.

His eyes flicked towards her lips and contemplated on whether to kiss her or not. He wanted to but he was still finding it a bit difficult to be in the body of Tyler. He'd rather have been kissing her with his own lips. But either way, he would get to kiss her.

Slowly, he pressed his lips against hers. Her eyelashes brushed against his face and he could feel a cold shiver run down his spine. He held her face in his hands and could feel the tears roll down her cheeks as they kissed. Were they tears of sadness or happiness? He couldn't tell.

It was Caroline that broke the kiss. "Tyler," she said and he felt angered when she said Tyler's name instead of his. "How are you even alive? Klaus is supposed to be dead isn't he?"

Then, Klaus knew it was time for him to leave. He stepped a little away from her. Wiping away the tears off her cheeks, he looked straight into her eyes and began to compel her. "You will forget that I came here. Tyler is dead but you won't feel sad about it because life goes on. You will move on and be happy again, love."

Swiftly, he left her house and stood in the dark forest, alone. That was probably the last time he would see her in the next hundred years. Without wasting another second, he disappeared from the forest, leaving it as silent as it had been before.

**Elena POV**

Sitting on Stefan's bed, with her knees up and resting her chin on them, Elena let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She was finding it extremely difficult to deal with all the heightened emotions and the new, strong craving for blood. _I can smell the stupid stuff from the basement to up here. _She thought and shook her head.

Letting out another sigh, Elena got off the bed. This wasn't her. She didn't give up from things so easily and this was nothing compared to the things she had been through. She couldn't sit in Stefan's room, brooding like him all day. She needed learn as fast as possible how to use the new strength, speed, heightened and above all, how to control her cravings.

Elena thought of what she should try first. There were so many things. Her sight had never been clearer, everything was so vivid and felt more real than it ever had. Her sense of smell was better, she knew that since she could smell Jeremy's blood and the blood from all the blood bags down in the basement. She decided to test her hearing first.

"_He's coming to." _Elena had Katherine's voice say softly.

"_Take him to one of the rooms. He isn't going home tonight." _Damon ordered Katherine and then suddenly, he appeared before her.

"What do you want, Damon?" Elena asked edgily. She felt like a firework burst in her stomach when his cool breath came upon her did she feel like that? All those feelings she had been suppressing for Damon were more intense than ever. She took a very quick glimpse at his lips and like the urge for blood, she suddenly wanted to kiss them. _What the hell is wrong with me? _She thought and quickly moved away from him, stepping in front of the mirror.

She remembered her birthday, she was standing in front of the mirror, wearing a lovely white dress that Caroline had picked out, just standing there, wondering what she was going to do with her life then. She turned eighteen and now, everything she had planned for herself that day meant nothing because now, she was a vampire.

Biting her lip, she tried her best not to cry in front of Damon. She had never been fond of crying, it made her look weak and she always tried to look and feel stronger than she was. What was different from before and now was that now, she was actually strong – very strong.

"How do you feel?" Damon asked, standing behind her. It reminded her again of that day, Damon had come in and returned her necklace, putting it around her neck.

Elena lifted the necklace and played around with it, touching the designs on the pendant with her forefinger. "I feel fine, better actually." She replied truthfully and stared at herself. She looked exactly the same. Who would ever believe that the girl standing in the mirror was actually a vampire?

"So what are we going to do now?" Damon came closer. She could feel his body barely brushing hers. She turned around and her eyes once again took a glimpse at his lips. The feeling in her stomach and her heart springing returned, which she did not like. She did not like it at all.

"I don't know about you but I'm going learn how to be…a vampire," whispered Elena, her eyes gazing at his lips, remembering what it was like when she had kissed him before, both times. It felt like something she had never felt before, different, never ending. It took nearly an hour before Elena truly stopped thinking about the kisses when it happened both times. When Stefan had kissed her earlier that night, she didn't feel any of those feelings. Actually, she didn't think about it at all. None of the other kisses with Stefan had felt like that either. With Stefan, it was always safe and intimate. With Damon…it was so different. There were fireworks, desire, it was consuming and…she couldn't put her finger on the proper word.

"_I'll call you later," she says into the phone and then hangs up._

"_Katherine?" A man asks, appearing in front of her. He's standing only a feet or two away. He's got electric blue eyes that looked fathomless and full of…mystery and raven hair. He looks at her, half confused and half contented._

"_No," she looks behind her and then says, "I'm Elena."_

_The man looks down, completely disappointed. She felt bad for a moment. "Oh," he says. Then he looks up at her, still confused. "You just look…" He stops. With his eyebrows pulled together, he steps forward. "I'm sorry. You just really remind me of someone." He licks his lips and then stops walking. She wonders what to do next but just stands there, waiting for him to say more. "I'm Damon."_

_She's a bit creeped out at first since he was a complete stranger, in the middle of the road but then she thought it was Mystic Falls. "Not to be rude or anything Damon but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere." She says anyway and looks at him, fully, checking briefly if he had a gun or any other type of weapon. She was always very cautious while meeting strangers because after all, serial killers looked just like normal people._

"_You're one to talk," he replies. "You're out here all by yourself." He gives her a smirk, which she finds very sexy._

"_It's Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here," she tells him like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Then there comes an expression on Damon's face like he knows more than she does and that what she says is a complete lie. After a brief period of silence, she suddenly says, "I got into a fight with my boyfriend."_

_She didn't even feel stupid for just randomly telling a stranger about her silly, teenage problems. He looked older than her so she felt like she had to act more mature, not that she was immature or anything but she acted different around people older than her compared to the way she acted with her friends._

"_About what?" Damon asks curiously. He lifts up his hands, showing his palms. "May I ask."_

_She shakes her head, thinking about all the things she fought about with Matt and put it into words. "Life, future, he's got it all mapped out."_

_Damon shrugs his lips. "You don't want it?"_

_She shrugs. "I don't know what I want."_

_Cocking his head to the side, he says to her, "Well that's not true. You want what everybody wants." He says in a similar tone as to when she said 'Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here."_

_Then she suddenly felt a thrill in her body and she smiles. "What?" She asks, cocking her head a little. "A mysterious stranger who has all the answers?"_

_Damon lets out a small laugh, looking away from her. "Well let's just say I've been around a long time." His flirty smile is so gorgeous that she couldn't help smiling back just as flirtily. "I've learned a few things." He winks and does another lip shrug. It sounded like he had a lot of experience with love._

"_So Damon," She began. "Tell me, what is that I want?" She tilts her head a little and crosses her arms across her chest._

_Damon looks at her, thinking of what to say. After a moment, he begins to walking, answering her question. "You want a love that consumes you; you want passion, an adventure." He pauses and in the tiny second that he pauses, she looks at him like he had read through her soul. "And even a little danger." He smirks and she can only stare at him._

_Overwhelmed by the things he said, she gazes at him, thinking, where had he been all her life? All the things she wanted were put into words by some random, very hot, guy who was on the road. She thinks deeply of what he said, realizing what she wanted and then she breaks the silence. "So…what do you want?"_

_Damon opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. He looks down and thinks about it, coming out blank with no answer. Then before he is able to say anything else, there is a honk from the distance._

_She turns to look at where it's coming from and even he looks at the car that was nearing them._

"_That's my parents," she says, letting out a small sigh of relief._

_Then when she turns back around, Damon's standing inches away from her and he looks straight into her chocolate brown eyes. "I want you to get everything you're looking for." He says to her, never removing his blue eyes from her chocolate ones. "But right now, I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet." He smirks and winks at her. "Goodnight Elena." And then he's gone, leaving her utterly confused._

Elena wakes up, gasping harshly that soon turns into a cough. Her throat feels very dry. Her eyes are still a little blinded and she can barely make out the face before her.

"Here, drink this." Someone tells her and she is holding a squishy bag, sucking on a straw like thing. _Blood. _She thought and is relieved to be drinking some. She felt very tired.

The blood bag was empty soon and she put it down, shaking her head, she was finally able to make out images. She turned to the face that was near her. It was Damon. She put her fingers on her temples, messaging it, hoping that the headache she was having would disappear.

Then she remembered what she dreamt about or…remembered. _I met Damon first. _Elena turned to look towards him and her mouth is hanging wide open. This…this affected her choice.

* * *

**Okay, well there we go. No, Klaus is not gone forever, he will come back very soon. But not in Tyler's body. Ugh I can't imagine lovely Klaus talking in an American accent, I will need his body and English accent back ASAP. Haha. Elena**** remembers everything. Now to stir up a little drama. :P Sorry for the long time of no update :/**


	5. Letting Go

**Thank you for the reviews. And now to see if Elena will change her choice or not. :D **

**Damon's POV**

She was staring at him, like she had been doing before she fainted several minutes ago. He didn't know why she fainted but she did and he was starting to worry about her.

Elena completed the transition and Damon knew that now, he needed to be there for her more than anything. It was probably the most important thing ever. They were out of danger and Elena could be free now. She was free to live her life. No more Evilaric (though he was terribly sad that Alaric was dead – his best friend) and no more Klaus. It was all over and Elena could live her life.

From the moment Elena had completed the transition, Damon began to imagine how her vampire life would be like. He wanted to be there by her side through the whole process. He couldn't leave her with Stefan – his ripper ways would be nothing but trouble for her. He needed to be there for her to make sure that she learns how to control properly.

Then all his happy thoughts of being by Elena's side for eternity were broken when she said, "I met you first."

_She finally remembered. _Damon thought. It wasn't that he didn't know or expect for Elena to remember all the times he had compelled her but that didn't mean he wanted her to know. There was a reason why he didn't tell her that he met her first. She made her choice. He never liked her choices but that choice was something that she had to make on her own and only by herself.

Damon didn't know what to say so he just stood up and took the blood bag from her hands, throwing it into the trash can by Stefan's door.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena asked loudly. Damon imagined that Katherine was somewhere in the house, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"I didn't think it was important," muttered Damon, turning around to see Elena standing up near the mirror. _She's so cute when she's angry. _He thought and looks at her. Her chocolate brown eyes, her straight hair of the same color, her pink lips, her petite body, the tenderness of her skin – just everything about her was so beautiful, was so amazing. It wasn't just her physical beauty. The fire in her belly, the love in her heart, her kindness, her power over him that even he didn't understand, the strength of her spirit and the beauty of her soul. All those things and so much more…he loved about her.

"Why do you keep doing that, Damon?" She accused angrily, stepping forward.

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her, not understanding what she means. "What do I keep doing, Elena?"

"Every time we're close to being more than what we are…you always…" She stopped and looks down, shaking her head.

Damon didn't understand. _Being close to more than what we are? _What were they? Friends? No. They weren't friends. Not after two kisses and him confessing thrice that he loves her. No way were they just friends.

"I always what Elena?" He asks, a little loudly and angrily. He didn't like that she blamed him for so much. He didn't like it at all.

"You always find a way to make me push you away!" shouted Elena, looking at him straight in the eye.

Damon's heart dropped. _I always found a push to her away? _He asked himself and with his eyebrows pulled together, angered by her words, he stands in front of her and shouts in a way he'd never shouted at her before. "Would it really have made a difference if you knew that I met you first? You love Stefan and I don't know how you feel about me Elena but you chose Stefan. It will always be Stefan and I am just so stupid…" He pauses, realizing what his actions were. He was firmly gripping her arms, forcing her to look him straight into his sudden cold, blue eyes. He let her go, half ashamed and half still angry with her. "I told," he said more quietly. "I wouldn't make it easy on you and after everything I've done for you, everything we've been through and after you changed me into something I thought was dead in me, you still chose Stefan."

He tried to get control of himself but the anger had taken over and that anger soon turned into tears. Elena was also in tears but he wasn't sure why. He was pretty convinced that Elena didn't feel anything close to what he felt for her.

"I chose Stefan because I loved him first Damon. I chose Stefan because after my parents' death, I shut down and he brought me back up again. Damon, I love Stefan. After everything I have been through with _him _I can't just let him go like that." Elena explained, in tears.

For a moment, Damon wished he was dead. He wished that Klaus had created their bloodline and that he died with Klaus. Hearing Elena say the reasons why she chose was too much for him to handle. He stepped back from Elena, making sure there was a proper distance.

Then he asked, "So that's it then?"

"What else do you want me to say, Damon?" Elena cried and walked forward. Damon took her hands and held it tightly.

"That you feel something for me too because I know you do." He whispered, breathing on her face. He saw her eyes fall to his lips and he did the same, wanting to kiss them badly but he didn't because it wasn't the right moment.

Elena pushed Damon away and turned around. "I'm sorry Damon…" She mumbled and his heart dropped again. He felt as if a boulder dropped into his stomach, making him feel strange. It was pain. He knew it was pain. It was the sort of pain that he always felt but tried not to deal with but Elena was opening up wounds like never before. "Just go away. Please. I want to be alone."

Damon nodded automatically and walked away, slowly towards the door and stood at the threshold. Without turning around, he murmurs under his breath and if Elena had been human, it wouldn't have been audible, "Goodbye Elena."

Then he was downstairs. Katherine was sitting on the couch, holding a glass of bourbon. He knew that she heard every part of the conversation and that's why she had another glass of bourbon set for him. He guzzled it down and then lifted her up. She was a bit taken back by the action but smiled in her sexy-Katherine like way.

"You wanna get out of here?" He told her and she nodded instantly.

They left the house, getting into his car, driving to the bar. Damon knew that alcohol was the only way he could try to forget the pain that he was drowning in. It wasn't the best way but it was the only way he wanted to do it.

**:/ *Sigh* Just to let everyone know, Delena will rule later on. Please don't be disappointed with Elena's choice for the time being, it will get better. You will just have to bear with me for now. Review please?**


	6. Unexplained Feelings

**Stefan's POV**

He ran into the house and called out for Elena. She didn't answer.

It was only a few minutes ago that he had seen Damon and Katherine driving off, singing at the top of their lungs. _How stupid could they be? _They left Jeremy all by himself with a blood thirst, newborn vampire Elena.

"Elena!" He called out again but she didn't answer. He went upstairs, checking every room, starting with his.

Stefan saw the blood bag in the trash can and hurried to the where Jeremy was resting. He was sleeping and there were no signs of Elena. Then he realized where she would be at.

Swiftly, in his vampire speed, he went down to the basement where there was a cooler with blood bags.

Elena was sitting on the ground, five blood bags near her bare feet and she was holding another one, drinking thirstily out of it. He pulled the bag away from her and he saw she was in tears.

"Elena?" whispered Stefan. Pushing the hair out of her face, he wiped the blood of her lips with his fingers. "I'm right here, Elena." He kissed her gently on the forehead and sat down next to her, bringing her close to him, hugging her tightly, and caressing her hair.

Sobbing and crying on his shoulder, Stefan wondered what was wrong with her. He didn't question her immediately. He waited till she calmed down and told him on her own. Till then, he kept her close, protecting her with his arms, kissing her hair and smoothing it.

Finally, nearly after ten minutes, Elena looked up at Stefan, no longer crying or sobbing, she just looked at him. Stefan smiled a little and asked, "What's wrong, Elena?"

She didn't answer; instead, she kissed him quickly on the lips, stopping him from asking further questions. The kiss was different from other kisses with Elena. It was rough and he could taste the O positive blood that she had just drunk. Her hand was gripping his blonde hair tightly. He could feel her tears on his face and that's where he stopped the kiss.

"What's wrong, Elena?" asked Stefan and she frowned. Then she rested her head on his shoulder, staying silent. He sighed, putting his arm around her shoulder.

It was a little odd, being this close to her. They had spent so many months apart. He had done so much to push her away and strangely, he felt like he really had managed to push her away. Maybe she still wanted him but he wasn't so sure whether he wanted her. Though this wasn't the right time to say that or even be sure about it.

Stefan couldn't feel it anymore. He couldn't feel the love he had felt for Elena a few months ago. Of course he cared about her, as much as he cared about Damon and loved him but he didn't know about the relationship. He had messed it up so much that he couldn't see it being fixed. He tried to remain positive but the negativity of the relationship they once had never finding it's way back was still there.

It was such a strange thing. He truly believed that he loved Elena. Especially the night Klaus found out about the daggers. When he was with her, telling her that he loved her, he really thought he did but on the night of the dance when Alaric was transitioning, he still loved her and cared about her but not like he did before. _How is that even possible? _

"Jeremy's awake," muttered Elena, sighing in sorrow. She seemed so sad and he felt partly responsible for it. He should have saved both Elena and Matt.

"I'm sorry about all this Elena," apologized Stefan. Elena lifted her head off Stefan's shoulder and frowned.

"It's not your fault, Stefan. It's no one's fault. It just happened and I know it's strange of me to just say that but I have to accept it and move on, right?" said Elena.

Stefan was a little surprised by how easily Elena had moved on. It wasn't like anything he had expected at all. He thought she would be in denial or at least mad at him but she was taking it very calmly. Like it was meant to happen.

"Are you sure?" He asked, just to be sure. Elena might just be saying it for the sake of him so he wanted to be completely sure. Elena nodded and stood up, lifting Stefan up with her. "Now we can be together." She said but she didn't really sound like she meant it. There was a tone that he couldn't quite identify in her voice but he tried to ignore it. Though it troubled him like it troubled him that their relationship might not be fixed.

"I'm going to check on Jeremy," said Elena and she ran off. She was using her new skills like she was born with them. He liked that Elena wasn't brooding or upset. He liked that she was accepting that this was what happened and trying to deal with it, instead of being upset over it. He smiled.

As Stefan was about to leave, he breathed and then his body was in a trance. The blood. He thought he had control now but it had been so long since he had a drop and standing right next to it made him lose the control.

His fangs came out and he stared at the blood bags, his hands on the metal cooler. He closed his eyes and tried to control himself. He thought of Elena. Her face, her voice but none of it calmed him down. It only stressed him out. When he thought of Elena, he could only think of her being a newborn vampire, which she didn't want to be even though she was dealing with it like she dealt with everything supernatural.

Then Stefan thought of something that he couldn't believe he was even thinking about. _Caroline. _Her lovely lavender smell, her blue eyes, her smile, her bubbly personality, her strength…_Caroline. _Stefan let out a breath and his fangs were back in, he was in control.

Stefan's eyes opened. _How thinking of Caroline did calm me down and Elena didn't? _He thought and he tried to gulp down the thought.

Closing the cooler, Stefan went upstairs, his mind still lingering on Caroline.

**Caroline's POV**

She had her body wrapped in a comfortable, rose patterned quilt and her head underneath a cozy pillow yet, she couldn't get herself to fall asleep.

Caroline had been in bed for the past forty five minutes, closing and opening her eyes with her mind spinning and twisting with one thought: Stefan holding her hand. She felt so guilty about it but her mind just wouldn't stop. It kept going on and on about it, replaying the memory in her head.

She jumped out of bed, pulling her hair into a pony tail and going out into the kitchen. She began preparing a hot cocoa for herself. It was clear that her mind wasn't going to be at rest anytime soon.

Unsure of why Caroline was thinking about Stefan holding her hand, she sat down, stirring the cocoa, sugar, water and milk before putting it into the microwave. It was how her mom had taught her how to make it. It was one of the few things she had that connected her with her mom.

Just as Caroline began to think about her mom, she heard the door get unlocked and slammed by someone. She stood up and walked out of the kitchen, where her mom was standing by the door, almost in tears. Then she looked up and gasped.

"Mom?" Caroline called out and stepped forward. Her mom ran over and hugged her tightly, like Stefan had done earlier that night. _Such a huggy night. _She thought, hugging her mom back.

"I thought you would be gone!" Her mom cried and she let go. Caroline forgot all about that. Since Tyler died, nothing had been on her mind but then the whole thing with Elena happened. She couldn't possibly leave Elena or Stefan alone in that. "The council was compelled by Alaric. They don't remember anything about you being a vampire or Tyler being a hybrid!" Her mom exclaimed and hugged her again.

Caroline's mouth hung open, her hands by her side. Since Alaric's dead…the compulsion broke. That meant she could stay but Mayor Lockwood…_Tyler. _

She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes but she knew she couldn't tell her mom or Mayor Lockwood. She was sad about Tyler's death but she couldn't hold on to it forever. She had to let it go and live a life. It was the best thing to do and if no one but Stefan, Elena, Matt, Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy and herself knew about Tyler's death then it would be like he really left.

"Mom," started Caroline, clearing her throat and sighing. "Tyler left." Caroline paused, thinking only for a moment for a further explanation. "Elena and Matt got into a car crash and I told him we had to go back. Tyler and I got into a big fight and I left. Then he went away. I don't…" Caroline paused again, taking in a deep breath and showing sad emotions on her face and in her eyes so that her mom would believe her. "I don't know where he went. I'm sorry."

Her mom was stunned and Caroline wondered if she believed her or not.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline." Her mom whispered and kissed her on the forehead. "It's been a long day. I'm going to bed okay?" Caroline nodded and then her mom left.

Sighing in relief, Caroline returned to the kitchen and quickly took out the blue mug from the microwave. The ceramic felt warm against her palm, which she liked and she sat down, waiting for a couple of minutes for it to cool.

Caroline smiled as she stared at the hot cocoa, she would have added marshmallows but there weren't any at the moment. She was smiling. It seemed silly for her to smile after the day she had but she felt like she had to smile. They were free. All of them. Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, Jeremy, Abby, Matt, Damon and Caroline – they were all free from the hybrid drama. She knew that eventually they would have to deal with Klaus's siblings but for now, they were all free. She remembered what Tyler had told her, _'You've got a beautiful future ahead of you'_. Caroline nodded to herself. That was what she had to concentrate on. The beautiful future ahead of her.

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**Let me just explain why Caroline is all of a sudden 'falling' for Stefan: In the pilot, she was after him and then their friendship flourished in season 2 when she turned. I like to believe that that friendship sort of made the attraction she had towards him stronger but she was holding back because he was with Elena. Then Tyler came into the picture and again, I like to believe that she used him as a distraction from Stefan. Now that Tyler is out of the picture, the feelings for Stefan are back again. That's what is happening in my story anyway. It may not make sense right now but it will, soon.**

**Now the thing with Stefan, well that, I will explain later ;) **


	7. Visitors

**First off, I would like to apologize for not updating and therefore I have made this chapter quite long. Enjoy (:**

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**Elena's POV**

She woke with a start, her eyes fluttering open and her head lifting off the pillow a little before falling back. It was a dream about Damon. She was remembering the two kisses and then the fight that happened the night before. It was torturous for her to think about them. It made her think about changing her choice but she felt she would be unfaithful to Stefan if she did that.

Elena turned to her side and looked at Stefan, who was sleeping, which she realized that vampires did actually sleep. They just didn't get tired like humans and didn't need it.

Elena thought she would be happy now. She had Stefan and not just for now but the rest of eternity. Klaus was dead, which meant no more hybrids. She should be happy then why wasn't she?

Stefan's eyes were shut and his lips were parted a little. It reminded her of last night's kiss. When she kissed him, she felt…nothing. It felt like kissing her brother, which was wrong on so many levels. But what about everything she said to Damon the very same night? The way she wanted to kiss him, she didn't feel that with Stefan. She didn't want to kiss him. Truthfully, it felt wrong for her to be sleeping in the same bed with him. It felt strange, something completely new to her.

She kept telling herself it was her new vampire body trying to turn her to Damon. _Why aren't I turning to Damon? _She suddenly thought and tried to think of at least three reasons. All the reasons for which she had hated him before were all gone. She didn't hate him. Then what did she feel about him?

It felt way too complicated for her to think about. It made her crave blood more, like the night before. She had gone on a crazy blood binge because of the argument with Damon. She was upset but not at him, with herself. A part of her, a very big part of her wanted him more than anything in the world. More than she had ever wanted Stefan. She wanted Damon.

The hunger for blood returned and she stopped thinking of Damon and began to think of Stefan. She looked at him and thought of everything they had been through. _Why am I even forgiving Stefan? _She thought and pulled her eyebrows together. She turned to her other side and thought about it even more.

Stefan. He did nearly as many awful things as Damon had done but the thing with Damon was that, Elena didn't really have the right over him to stop him because they were never together but Stefan…He left her, without a goodbye or a warning. Sure he had a good reason, he did it to save his brother but he never called or left a sign or anything. He just left and when she found him, he pushed her away like she meant nothing. And yet, she kept fighting for him. Then he came back, bit her and turned into a humanity less person that she didn't even recognize. And yet, she loved him. Once he got his humanity back and his freedom, what did he do? He tried to get revenge from Klaus. He could have come back to her. She was willing to forgive him. But no. He nearly turned her into a vampire, threatening to drive her off the same bridge her parents died. After that, really? She was still going to forgive him? Was their love really that strong?

Elena highly doubted that. She sighed and got out off bed. As her feet touched the ground, she screamed loudly. It was burning.

She looked at her feet. The burn marks were healing quickly. Stefan woke up and looked at her and then at her feet. She didn't have a daylight ring.

"I think you should get out off bed from this side." Stefan told her and got off the bed, helping her next.

Her feet were all healed and they felt a little cool. She looked at Stefan's hand holding hers and she immediately pulled back. "I'm going to go check on Jeremy." She said and then walked away. He didn't say anything.

For some reason, she had the feeling like even Stefan was holding back. She didn't see the love in his eyes anymore.

Messaging her head, Elena went into Jeremy's room, where all the curtains were shut and he was sitting on the bed, crying. She stood outside for a moment, looking at him. She contemplated on whether to leave or stay. He needed some alone time. He needed to cry out all the bottled up feelings. She knew he had been hurting since Jenna's death and then Alaric and now Elena. There was only so much a sixteen year old could take.

"Jeremy," she called out after a while and walked into the room. Jeremy looked away and wiped away his tears.

When he turned to look back at her, the emotions were lost. He kept his face expressionless. She sat down on the bed, keeping a little distance and placed her hand on his leg.

"How are you doing?" She asked him, giving him a long and searching look. She didn't want to see her brother hurt. His eyes tore up and he looked down, trying to hide his feelings from her. "Jeremy." She lifted up his face and frowned when she saw a few drops rolling down his cheek. She wiped them away slowly and smoothed his hair.

"I thought you would be mad at me." He murmured and looked down again. It wasn't to hide his feelings this time, it was out of shame and regret.

Elena sighed and got closer to him. She took both his hands and squeezed them tightly. "Jeremy Gilbert, I could never be mad at you." Weakly, Elena smiled as she spoke in a soft and understanding tone. "You've lost so many people in your life and I understand why you did what you did." She squeezed his hands once more. Both their chocolate eyes were teary. "If the situation was reversed, I would have probably done the same." She shrugged and suddenly, Jeremy leaped into a hug.

They hugged each other wordlessly, their arms tightened around each other's body's, afraid to lose one another, teary eyed and smiling faintly. After a few minutes, Jeremy let go and wiped away the tears from his eyes and hers.

"I love you, Elena." He told her.

"I love you too, Jer." She replied and they looked at each other, knowing that now, they needed each other more than anything. He needed her more than she needed him but either way, they were going to be there for each other, through thick and thin because that's how it worked. He was her brother and she was his sister, they'd been through enough to know that they could get through anything as long as they had each other.

Both Elena and Jeremy shared a beautiful sibling moment until Stefan appeared at the door and smiled at the two.

With a pang of realization, Elena turned to Jeremy and said, "You must be hungry. I don't think there is any food here – " She looked over at Stefan, who shook his head, agreeing with her. "You and Stefan can go get some. I'm sure you're hungry right!"

Jeremy gave a one shoulder shrug and Elena forced him off his ass, dragging him downstairs while Stefan followed behind them. "Look Jer, we have to try and make this work. You need to eat and you have eaten anything since yesterday, which is bad for you!" She ordered him and stood in the corner where there was no sunlight.

Stefan came over to her and said, "I'll give Bonnie a call and we'll get you a daylight ring okay?" Elena nodded and smiled at her. She was trying to make the best of the situation.

Jeremy didn't like the fact that he had to go with Stefan. He'd rather have Stefan give Elena his daylight ring and Elena and Jeremy go get food. He didn't want the Salvatore brothers around his sister but she was insisting and he was only listening to her because after what he had done, she needed to be listened to.

Stefan and Jeremy left Elena alone in the big, Salvatore Boarding house on her own with her curiously bothered thoughts of where on hell Damon Salvatore was.

**Damon's POV**

He was laying quite peacefully on the middle of the road, in the not so hot sun, with Katherine and an empty bottle of Jack Daniel's in between their heads. They were just getting sober from being drunk all night. They drove from bar to bar all over the state of Virginia though he had been more drunk than Katherine. She was the one who always decided when it was time to leave and drove around for them.

He had reason to get drunk. Elena had, in between the lines, told him that it was never going to be him. It would always be his goody two shoes brother, Stefan. For every woman he ever loved, it would always be Stefan. _It's just how the fucking world worked. _

Sighing, Damon sat up on his elbows and looked over at Katherine, who had her eyes closed. "Don't tell me you're already tired." He told her, rolling his eyes.

Katherine opened her eyes instantly and fluttered her eyelashes seductively. "Not at all." Then swiftly, she stood up and so did Damon. "Where to next?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and waiting for Damon to say something.

"Back to Mystic Grill," replied Damon and walked over to his car, which was parked on the side of the road.

Katherine stared at the empty area where Damon had been standing just a few seconds ago and she scoffed. Then she came over to the car and leaned by his window. "Come on, Damon! We were just beginning to have fun!" She insisted and pouted, trying to convince him.

As much as Katherine didn't want to go back to Mystic Falls, Damon didn't want to either. The last thing he wanted to do was go see Elena but that also the one thing he wanted to do the most. He hated how everything with Elena was always so contradictory with each other.

"Get in the car Katherine or I'll leave you here on your own." Damon threatened and then Katherine, choice less, got into the car.

Damon turned on his radio where the song, 'It's my life' by Bon Jovi was on and began to drive over the speed limit, trying to get home before afternoon. He noticed Katherine take out of phone, read a text message and then smirk in her usual, deceitful way.

He wondered whether to be worried and shook the feeling off. It didn't matter. He'd just have to deal with it when it hit him.

**Elena's POV**

In the twenty minutes that Stefan and Jeremy had been gone away, Elena went down to the basement, grabbed a blood bag and ran upstairs before she had emptied the whole container. She poured the blood into a glass and sat on the couch, drinking.

Once she was done with that, she waited for a while for Stefan and Jeremy to return. She lay on the couch, blowing a strand of hair off her face as it fell to her lips and then up in the air and then fell back. She eventually got bored of this and sat up, pushing her hair back and looked at the beautiful crystal containers that held sweet alcohol in it.

Elena wasn't a big drinker but she thought, _what the hell? _She took the container that had bourbon and poured it into a glass. As she was pouring, there was a knock on the door. She elegantly arched an eyebrow and looked at the door. _Who could that be? _

She put the lid back on the crystal and put down her glass. She walked over very slowly to the door and wondered whether to open it. There was probably going to be sunlight but she couldn't just leave the person outside hanging.

Taking a deep breath, Elena swiftly opened the door and with a few burns, she hid where there was the most shade. She was never going to get used to that feeling.

When her burns were healed, she stepped out of the shade and saw that the door was closed. She walked over to it and there were three women standing in front of it.

Elena recognized one of the women. She was Lucy, the witch who had helped them at the masquerade ball. The woman standing right next to her had a café au lait complexion, straight, pecan colored hair and dark green eyes that were similar to Stefan's. She looked to be in her early twenties. She was quite beautiful but it was the girl who was standing in front of those two that had caught her attention the most.

Very fair complexion, bouncy espresso colored hair that reached the middle of her stomach, big, deep set chocolate eyes, a curvy figure, high cheekbones and her lips painted a brink pink. She wore a white vintage whisper tee, tidal blue Catalina skirt and black ballerina flats. She stepped forward and Elena felt a little scared. The only reason why she hadn't already run upstairs was because of Lucy. She had saved her life and she was a Bennett witch, Elena felt like she could trust her.

"Hello Elena," said the girl and she stretched her pink lips into a bright smile. "I'm Victoria."

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**And finally! We have the lovely Victoria. I love creating new characters because to me, they aren't just characters. They are people. They have a face and a story.**

**I hope you like Victoria. She will have similar personalities to a few characters in TVD (: Review please? Thank you. **


	8. Home is Where The Heart Is

**Picking off exactly where we left off. I'm sorry for not updating daily. I don't have that sort of time anymore :/  
**

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**Elena's POV**

Staring at the three, attractive women in front of her, Elena gulped down the lump in her throat and spoke. "I'm Elena." She told them but she figured they already knew.

The girl in the middle, Victoria, stepped forward and looked at Elena with a glint in her eyes. Her smile was small but it was saying so much to Elena. It was like she knew her.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this. Katherine told me that it was time to finally meet you!" exclaimed Victoria. The green eyed woman rolled her eyes at the mention of Katherine and Lucy smirked at it.

_Katherine? _Elena thought and opened her mouth to speak though she was interrupted by the door opening again. She ran to shelter in the parlor and hid behind a shelf. There were only a few burns this time but it was getting annoying every minute that her skin burned every time it came in contact with sunlight in even the tiniest bit.

Elena stood up and stared at the small crowd that was staring back her. Victoria, Lucy and the green eyed woman were at the back while Jeremy and Stefan were standing a little more forward.

"Elena?" questioned Jeremy and Elena shook her head.

"I'm fine Jer," she told him and walked towards Victoria.

Elena wondered if Victoria knew about vampires. Of course she did if she were hanging out with a witch. But for someone who was supposed to know about vampires and witches, she looked very naïve and innocent. _Who is she? _

All eyes were still on Elena. Stefan and Jeremy were standing behind her. Victoria smiled a little and looked towards Lucy, who gave her an approving smile. Elena continued to make observations of Victoria, trying to figure her out in the best of ways. With everyone silent, it was easier to do so.

Victoria looked like she was the same age as Elena. She was gorgeous and hidden in the innocence of her eyes, Elena felt like she wasn't very innocent. There was more to her than what met the eye.

"What do you want with me?" asked Elena, breaking away the silence that everyone was holding up.

Now all eyes moved away from Elena to Victoria. The green eyed woman stepped forward and put her hand on Victoria's shoulder but Victoria shook her head.

"Caitlyn, if I don't tell her then…" started Victoria and stopped when Stefan interrupted rudely.

"Tell her what?"

Caitlyn shot an angry glare at Stefan. Out of the three women, Elena noticed, that Caitlyn was the only person who looked like she didn't want to be here.

Victoria sighed, dropping her dark eyes to the ground and then looking up into Elena's eyes with hopefulness. "I'm your half-sister."

Elena felt like a bomb had been dropped on her. Never would she have expected to ever hear those four words and there they were, lingering in the air, swiftly shocking and breathtaking everyone except the three women standing before her. Elena's mouth hung open, eyes widened and she stared at Victoria, trying to search for more answers as her mind stacked questions one after the other.

_How is this even possible? _Thought Elena. _Does that mean that the Petrova bloodline will still continue? Is she even Isobel's child? Or is she John's? _

Jeremy was the fastest to recover from the shock and he asked immediately, "Are you John or Isobel's kid?"

Victoria turned her eyes to Jeremy and looked at him carefully for a while, smiled seductively and answered. "I'm Isobel's daughter."

Finally, after a couple of seconds, Elena recovered and stepped away from Victoria. She began to pace a little in the parlor and then thought exactly of how she was going to question Victoria. She needed to get her head together and figure this out right. _Where is Damon when you need him? _Elena thought. She smiled but it didn't last long. If Damon were here, he would have already thrown a million questions at Victoria.

Then Elena stopped pacing and looked at all of them, face by face and stopped at Victoria's.

"How are you my half-sister?" She asked. It was the first question that she needed an answer to. _Was she older than me or younger than me? She can't be older than me. _Elena thought and waited impatiently for Victoria to answer.

"Well…" began Victoria. "It was several months after you were born that Isobel came back to Mystic Falls because she realized it was a mistake to have given you up. So she came back." Everyone listened to Victoria and looked at her curiously. "But Miranda and Grayson weren't willing to give you up."

Elena saw Jeremy wince when Victoria said his parents name. Elena bit his lip and thought of sending him away but she knew that he wouldn't have liked that at all.

"When Isobel didn't get you back, she went to a bar, got drunk, met a guy and one thing led to the other and…" Victoria pointed at herself and shrugged. She shook her head a little and turned around, facing Lucy and Caitlyn.

"She never mentioned you," said Elena and she sat down, processing the short little story Victoria told her. When she sat down, one by one, the others began to sit as well, except for Victoria.

Stefan and Jeremy were sitting by her side, as if to protect her. Like Elena, they weren't used to the fact that she was a vampire and that she could now protect herself. She didn't need Stefan around to feel safe anymore. She needed something else…something more, thrilling.

"Why would she?" Victoria muttered, rolling her eyes. "After she had me, she threw me into foster care. Since whatever drunk man didn't want to have me around, she didn't know how to handle being a mother." Victoria sounded very angry as she spoke of Isobel but she concealed it quite well.

"How'd you find out about me?" Elena asked her second question that was on her list of questions to ask.

Caitlyn looked over at Victoria and they looked into each other's eyes, having a silent conversation and then Victoria nodded.

"It was random. I met her at a bar and she recognized the birthmark on my shoulder. At first I resented her but then I came around and asked her why she threw me away. She mentioned that she had another child too and I was pissed that she put you into a loving home and put me into foster care." Victoria sighed and finally sat down next to Caitlyn. Caitlyn comforted Victoria as she flashed through the terrible memories of foster care.

"I met Caitlyn in a foster home. She's a witch from Ester's sister's bloodline. Caitlyn knew Lucy and they told me about vampires and witches. It was a day after I found at that Isobel came by with Katherine." Victoria smiled at the mention of Katherine's name. "I still hated Isobel and I stayed with Caitlyn and Lucy. Isobel left for good but Katherine, she visited once every month since I was fifteen.

"She was like my big sister and she's the one who told me about you." Victoria stood up and walked towards Elena.

Elena stood up and looked at Victoria. She noticed how Victoria's smile was a little similar to Isobel and so was the face shape but other than that, there were no resemblances.

"I'm only here because Katherine told me it was time for us to meet," whispered Victoria. Her voice was probably only audible to Stefan and Elena.

Sighing, Elena smiled at Victoria and nodded but in her head, there was another tempest asking more questions. _Why now? _

Then as Elena was about to speak more, she heard the door being opened and before she even knew who it was, there was another her standing in front of Victoria.

The two of them hugged each other tightly and Victoria looked like she was in tears. "I missed you so much, Kat!" exclaimed Victoria. Elena was very surprised to see such a soft side of Katherine. She never expected Katherine to have it in her but who knew?

"I missed you too, Tori," said Katherine and then let her go. "Did you tell her already?" Victoria nodded and glanced towards Elena, shooting a quick smile before going back to hug Katherine.

Elena really liked seeing the softer side of Katherine. It gave her a small assurance that there would be no bitch drama around. She still didn't like Katherine but she felt a little safer that she wasn't being her normal self.

"Uh, not to ruin the lovely rainbows and sunshine moment but who the hell are you?" asked a voice and Elena recognized it instantly.

"Damon," she whispered but it was probably heard by the vampires in the room. He looked at her but dropped his eyes, turning away from her. She frowned and she could feel a lump in her throat form. With her eyebrows furrowed in frustration, she stared at him and was upset by the fact that he was still mad at her. She didn't want that. Not now. Not when her emotions were on overdrive.

Victoria and Katherine were no longer hugging but they were standing close to each other. "She's Elena's half-sister. Elena knows and she'll explain the whole story. I need to talk to Tori," explained Katherine and when Damon gave an approving nod, Katherine, Victoria and Caitlyn left the boarding house.

**Katherine's POV**

Once they were outside and felt safe to talk in a distance where Stefan, Damon and Elena wouldn't hear them, Katherine, Victoria and Caitlyn stood in the blazing hot sun to talk.

Katherine felt warmth in her heart as she looked at Victoria.

Victoria was Isobel's daughter and Elena's half-sister. After Isobel found Katherine, Katherine found Victoria and even though Isobel and Katherine were friends, Katherine made it her duty to keep Victoria safe. She was the only person that she liked in her long line of family.

Victoria looked innocent and naïve but she had a headstrong personality. She was well trained by both Lucy and Caitlyn to be the best vampire hunter she could be but she didn't kill every vampire. Victoria, ever since she was fifteen, had been killing vampires who left a trail of bodies behind. She left the somewhat innocent vampires that didn't kill people but drank human blood alone.

Katherine was probably the only exception to that and because of Katherine, Damon and Stefan had also been spared. The only reason why Victoria wasn't well known by vampires was because there was no one to tell her stories. Victoria never missed her target and always stayed under the radar. With Katherine's help, Victoria and Caitlyn had both hid from Klaus and Elijah for two years.

Caitlyn was a different story entirely. She was a witch who was descended from Ester's younger sister, Lilliana's, bloodline. Lilliana had a child before she died because of the horrible disease that had struck those days in the Old World and the child was taken with Ester, given to one of the villagers who had taken care and raised her. Caitlyn was basically related to the Originals but she was one of the good witches who like Lucy promised to take care of Victoria because of the good that Victoria did.

"What is going on Kat? You look worried," murmured Caitlyn, staring suspiciously. Caitlyn didn't trust or like Katherine but was keeping her alive because of Victoria.

Victoria and Katherine were like sisters. Katherine was there for Victoria all the time and she felt like she had to protect her. Katherine had never felt like that other than for Damon and Stefan. "I'm not worried Caitlyn. I'm relieved that Klaus is dead and that now I can be free," answered Katherine proudly.

"Then why are we here Kat? Couldn't we just stay in New York?" asked Victoria, sighing.

"This is my home, Tori. Trust me; you'll have more vampires and werewolves to deal with here." Katherine told Victoria and took her hands, hoping that they would agree to stay with her for a short period of time. "I just want to spend a few days with you Victoria, in my home." Katherine nodded and tried convincing her as much as she could. But it didn't seem like it was working very well for Katherine.

Victoria slipped her hands out of Katherine's and turned around. She observed the front yard of the Salvatore boarding house, thinking quietly to herself whether to stay or not. Caitlyn and Lucy wouldn't like it at all but they would stay because they went wherever Victoria went. They were trying to protect Victoria from all the vampires and werewolves, trying to keep her alive. They were her family, her true family and she knew that she had to make them happy but Katherine was like her sister. No, Katherine was her sister. Katherine was just as important as Caitlyn and Lucy.

Victoria turned around, looking as gleeful as ever. "I'll stay!" She exclaimed and jumped to hug Katherine tightly.

Hugging her back, Katherine felt more than relieved to have Victoria around. She needed her to be around while she was going to be hanging around with Damon. Katherine knew that Damon would really like Victoria because she was a big party animal and as long as Damon and Elena were on the outs, the two girls had him all to themselves.

Happily, they returned back to the boarding house where a few interesting things had already happened.

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**Okay. So I know that all the information is pretty much jumbled in together and Katherine being all soft and good is really, well, unusual and that I haven't updated in what seems like forever but this the best I could do right now. It's been a stressful few days and I'm trying my best. Review?**


	9. New Troubles

**I'm trying very desperately to make up for the days I haven't written, so here goes:**

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**Damon's POV**

After Elena explained the short version of how Victoria was Elena's half sister, Damon was in on the new drama in Mystic Falls. If there were two things Mystic Falls had more than any other town in the world, it was supernatural beings and drama. Mystic Falls was just that kind of place: special.

"So now what?" asked Stefan, speaking after a very long time of silence.

Damon thought he would have been genuinely mad at Stefan for not saving Elena but since she wasn't dead-dead and only vampire-dead, he felt like there was no need to waste much energy on it and also because over the past few weeks, they had regained what they had of their brotherhood and Damon surely didn't want to be the one to ruin the whole thing.

"We were hoping we could stay here," said a peppy voice from the door and everyone turned to look at Victoria, Katherine and Caitlyn return from their little talk.

"Only for a few days." Caitlyn added swiftly as she threw a glance towards Lucy disapprovingly. Lucy said nothing and looked at the Salvatore brothers to see if they were alright with it or not.

Damon and Stefan looked into each others eyes and knew clearly that the choice was not theirs. They didn't mind if Katherine, Caitlyn, Victoria and Lucy stayed. The choice was Elena's, who may or may not be affected by her half-sister being around. It was too much for Elena to handle after being turned into a vampire but even after seeing how well she was coping with the whole situation, they still left the choice to her.

When Elena noticed the brothers staring at her, she realized that it was up to her. "Oh right." She realized. "Um…I'd like to get to know my half-sister as much as I can." She told Victoria and nodded for a while.

Victoria clapped her hands excitedly and grinned at Katherine, who smirked and secretly gave Elena a thankful look, which went unnoticed by Elena.

"But," said Elena, disrupting Victoria's excitement. "I need you to do me a favor."

Damon raised an eyebrow and wondered what she could possibly ask for from three people she had just met.

"I need a daylight ring. Right now." Elena basically ordered them, not really even asking them properly.

Damon felt it was fair. Since Bonnie was still M.I.A, Elena might as well ask another witch to do the job for her. Which reminded him that he needed to find Bonnie and see where she was. He didn't like the judgy witch but she was Elena's friend and as much as he was still upset with her about the argument from the night before, he wanted to be there for her in every way he could.

Secretly, Damon went upstairs into his room and opened his large, rosewood closet and opened one of the small drawers. There was a little, dusty, leather black box sitting in the place he had left for forty years.

Taking it out, he wondered if this was even the right choice. It was one of his most prized possessions and he couldn't believe he was even questioning the fact whether Elena was worth giving it up to. _Of course she's worth it. She's worth bringing the stars from space down to Earth. _Damon thought furiously and went back downstairs, where his absence had gone unnoticed.

"Consider it done." Caitlyn smiled confidently and shrugged her shoulder, knowing that her powers were far greater than both Lucy and Bonnie's combined. It might not have been as strong as Ester's but it was still exceptionally strong. "I'll need a ring."

It was finally Damon's cue and stepped forward, smirking. He handed the leather box to Caitlyn and flirted with his eyes, which Caitlyn returned just as flirtily. Just because he was in love with Elena, didn't mean he couldn't flirt with other women. It wasn't like they were together anyway.

Caitlyn opened the box and took a moment to take in the beauty of the ring that it held inside. It was a sterling silver ring that had silver ripples surrounding a lapis lazuli. It was his mother's ring. It was the only thing he ever had of her and now it was going to Elena's, the woman he loved most next to his mother.

Putting down the ring on the wooden coffee table, Caitlyn looked at the ring carefully and before anyone could even blink, it was all over.

"Here," Caitlyn handed over the ring to Elena and Elena hesitated to wear it. She looked over at Damon and then at Stefan, who knew whose ring it was and how much it meant to Damon. Then she slipped the ring with ease into her right hand ring finger.

Bravely, Elena went over to the door and she stood in front it. A minute passed and Damon wondered if she would ever open it. Then after another minute, Elena quickly opened the door and stood in front of it, not even thinking whether the spell had worked or not. She just stood there and she didn't burn, she was fine. It had worked like it was supposed to.

Elena turned back around and smiled at the group at the parlor who were looking back at her. She looked happy that the spell had worked and Damon was happy for her. He smiled and then looked down, knowing that he didn't really have a reason to be happy.

After everything that he had ever done for Elena, she still chose Stefan and that hurt Damon more than words could possibly explain. But he didn't want to force her to chose him or show her that he cared too much about it because it was her choice and it was the only thing he wanted to be her _true_ choice. And she made it. Now Damon just had to deal with the aftermath of it.

"Thank you," said Elena and then she took a sneaky glimpse at Damon, thanking him as well. "Are you guys hungry?" She asked and walked slowly towards Caitlyn, Victoria and Lucy, closing the door behind her.

The three women nodded and Victoria patted her flat stomach.

"Come on, we can eat." Elena offered and took the plastic bags from the floor where Jeremy had placed them and went into the kitchen, where Damon couldn't see her anymore.

Jeremy, Caitlyn, Victoria and Lucy all followed silently, leaving Stefan, Damon and Katherine in the parlor.

Stefan was still quiet and Katherine plopped down onto the couch tiredly, sighing and closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again when Damon went over to grab the glass of untouched bourbon and swallowed it down. He poured himself and Katherine another glass and sat down on the leather chair, drinking slowly.

"I'm going to, er, head out," said Stefan awkwardly and Damon gave him a questioning look but he didn't really care. He didn't have the energy to ask him where he was going or why.

Then when Stefan left, Damon sat silently, sipping his bourbon, secretly listening to Elena and the others just to make sure they were alright.

**Stefan's POV**

The drive to Caroline's house was short and he stood out her door, thinking of why he had the strongest impulse to go over there. He stared at the door and tried listening to her as she was singing lines of 'You Make Me Feel' by Cobra Starship somewhere in the house. She had a beautiful voice and he waited for a while, listening to it before he knocked on the door.

The singing stopped and he could hear her feet dragging over to the door and then she opened it. Her eyes widened as she looked at Stefan, surprised by his sudden visit.

Caroline was holding a bowl of cereal in hand and she smiled quickly. "Hey Stefan, come in."

Stefan entered the house and followed Caroline into the kitchen where they sat at the table while Caroline ate the rest of her cereal. She offered some to Stefan but Stefan usually never ate, not unless he was in public and it was necessary.

"So…why are you here, early in the morning?" asked Caroline in her normal, peppy tone. She sounded like she was recovering quite quickly from Tyler's death, which Stefan found to be suspicious but he was happy that she wasn't depressed about it. He wanted her to be as happy as she could be and he wanted to be there for her during her happiness.

Stefan explained the story of Victoria showing up and Damon giving their mother's ring to Elena and everything to Caroline. He shook his head as he thought about it. It's like they couldn't live a day with out something new popping into their lives.

"Oh. Wow." Caroline mumbled and she looked down at her bowl of cereal, contemplating everything Stefan said just a few moments ago and she nodded. "At least it's not a psychopath killer who only wanted all vampires dead or a weird, power crazed hybrid right?" added Caroline and Stefan couldn't help crack a smile.

Caroline grinned and he felt something in the very pit of his stomach. It was the sort of feeling that he had once felt when he was around Elena for the very first time. Everything felt so strange when he was around Caroline. It was all so breathtaking.

"You got a little something here," murmured Stefan, still lost in his thoughts of his damndest feelings. He wiped the tiny piece of cereal from the corner of her mouth and he could've sworn there was a pale pink splashing on her cheeks.

Both their eyes fleeted a look at their lips before looking up into their eyes, realizing how close Stefan had gotten to Caroline's face. He looked back down at her lips that were in the lightest shade of pink he could name and he just stared at them. Their faces kept getting closer and they both knew how wrong the action was and they both knew they should have stopped but putting that aside, everything in the moment couldn't have felt more right.

His lips were about to brush against hers but there was a faint knock on the door and Caroline pulled back. "I'm going to go get that." She murmured and she stood up, walked away, looking awfully confused.

Stefan pressed his back on the wooden chair and shook his head. His palms were sweaty and his lips were terribly unsatisfied. They wanted to kiss her lips and there had to be some stupid person at the door.

"Stefan!" called out Caroline and he stood up. He walked out of the kitchen, still feeling a little upset but that was all taken away by another much unexpected surprise.

Outside the door of Caroline's house, Elijah stood, still dressed in his suit of last night, looking at the two faces inside the house, waiting for them to invite him in.

"It seems we need to talk," said Elijah and lifted his chin by fraction and Caroline looked at Stefan with the same question stuck in both their minds; _What now?_

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**So the scene where Caroline and Stefan were going to was soooo cliché :P Hopefully I'll be able to update later tonight or tomorrow. Review please? Thank you :D**


	10. Change of Heart

**I read the reviews and I just want to say thank you for reading. You have no idea how much it honestly means to me. **

**Let me just say that character's like Rebekah, Elijah, Victoria, Jeremy and a few others won't get too long POV's because most of it will probably happen through the eyes of Elena, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Katherine or Bonnie. Just wanted to clear that out. Enjoy (:**

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Elijah was still standing out the door, looking from Caroline to Stefan and waiting for them to invite him in. Stefan couldn't think of even a single reason as to why Elijah might come to visit Caroline. What would he want with her?

"What do you want?" asked Stefan, sauntering towards Caroline, keeping eye contact with Elijah. He looked very tired and Stefan tried to find the betrayal and the lies in Elijah's nobleness. Stefan felt a little paranoid about the whole thing because Rebekah had tried to kill Elena and Matt the night before.

"I need to talk to you about my brother, Niklaus," replied Elijah and looked down in sadness.

Even though Stefan hated Klaus, he could understand the position Elijah was in. Stefan couldn't possibly understand what he would if Damon died. It was worse than Elena dying because Damon was his brother, the only family he had left. In Damon's entire annoying, dick headed like self, Stefan saw the humanity in him. Stefan knew that there was more to Damon than the façade he put up and Stefan loved him. They were two halves of a whole. They both needed each other and that was it, they needed each other.

Stefan was about to speak but Caroline interrupted, stepping in front of Elijah, nearly stepping out of the threshold. "Don't you think we've had enough?" snapped Caroline, stunning both Stefan and Elijah. "All _your _family has ever done is ruining all of our lives! We don't want to hear anything about Klaus or any other person in your family. Just leave us alone and get the hell off my porch!" Caroline yelled in a way that Stefan had never heard before. Then she slammed the door in Eiljah's face and stood in front of it, staring.

"Caroline?" He asked in a soft voice and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned immediately and she was in tears.

She leaped into a hug and cried softly. He assumed she was crying because she remembered about Tyler and he tried to comfort her as much as he could. It was a lot worse for Caroline than it was for Stefan.

Stefan ran his hand down her velvet, blonde hair and kept whispering in her ear, telling her to stop crying. She eventually did but she didn't let go and he didn't either. They were much too comfortable in each other's arms, feeling the warmth of their body, radiating and the mutual feelings they were feeling of relief.

They stood like that for only a while before Caroline let go and she smiled weakly. "Stay with me," asked Caroline gently. And she added, "Please?"

Stefan nodded, not wanting to go back to the Salvatore boarding house though he knew it was where he should be, with Elena but he didn't want that. He wanted to be with Caroline and that was the hardest thing for him to admit.

**Elijah's POV**

Like Caroline had not so politely asked him to, Elijah had got off the porch and was now standing on the pavement, looking down at the asphalt. He sighed and knew that if Caroline, whom he thought would be willing to listen because of her closeness to Klaus, didn't listen than he would have to go to Elena but he was afraid to seeing her. He was deeply ashamed of Rebekah's actions. Even though Klaus was killed by Alaric, it wasn't Elena's or Matt's fault.

Elijah walked slowly across the street and thought of taking Rebekah with him to the Salvatore boarding house but he had no clue of where she was so he gave up the idea and made his way to the boarding house, where he would have to try and explain to Elena that Klaus might possibly not be dead.

**Rebekah's POV**

Sitting on the metal chair, holding his cold hand in hers, she had icy tears rolling down her blushing cheeks. Looking at his honey blonde hair and slightly purple lids, she felt guilt and regret of what she did.

Rebekah had been in the hospital since Matt had been admitted, hiding whenever a doctor or a nurse came in. She gave him a little vampire blood to heal quicker because she didn't want him to die. She didn't want that at all. He was the only person, out of everyone in the whole Elena Gilbert group that had been even the tiniest bit nice to her and she knew that he was the only one who wasn't faking it.

She wiped away the tears and took in a deep breath. Because of the vampire blood, Matt was getting better and she was grateful that he wasn't dead or had turned into a vampire like Elena did.

Rebekah heard the whole conversation from the night before in the morgue. As much as she loved Niklaus and as much as it was killing her inside to think of him as dead, there was a part of her that didn't believe that he was dead. It was only because the Salvatore brothers and Caroline were still alive.

She was damn sure that it was Niklaus that had turned them but they hadn't died, which meant that something else was going on. She tried not think of him as dead. Even Elijah thought the same thing.

Her thoughts suddenly drifted away when she felt Matt's fingers flinch a little. She gasped and sighed in relief. He was getting better. He would probably hate her forever but at least he was alive.

She hadn't felt this way about anyone, ever. She never had the opportunity to. Matt and Mystic Falls gave her new experiences that she only wanted to live more but she knew that her presence in Mystic Falls would be greatly resented by all the residents. Matt, who had always been so kind to her, even after everything that had happened, would most likely push her away the most. She cared about him, nearly as much as she cared about Niklaus.

In a strange way, Rebekah felt a little relieved that Klaus was dead, if he really was anyway. She missed him, yes and she loved him, yes and if she could, she would bring him back to life but with Klaus dead, she was sort of free. She was free like all the others in town. Now she could explore the world on her own terms, fall in love and actually live. She only tried to kill Matt and Elena because she was angry at the moment but that anger had subsided and now she felt guilty for her actions.

"I'm sorry, Matt," whispered Rebekah. "If only you knew I didn't mean to. I was upset. I hope one day, you'll forgive me." She pressed her lips together to stop the tears from flowing down and she stood up, kissing him on the cheek and she tried to walk away from him but his grip on her hand was tight. He was holding her hand.

Rebekah smiled and with teary eyes, she slowly released her hand from his grip and said, "Goodbye Matt." Then she left his room, allowing him to hate her and never think of her ever again.

**Bonnie's POV**

Once Bonnie actually went through all of Caroline's voice messages, she rushed to the hospital and was at the reception, getting Matt's room number. She didn't go through all of them. After she heard the first one of Matt and Elena having a car accident and being at the hospital, she deemed the rest as irrelevant.

"Room 23," said the receptionist, looking away from her computer screen towards Bonnie and Bonnie ran through the halls to find room 23. She needed to see Matt, to see if he was okay, to see if there was anything she could do.

He was the only normal one among them and Bonnie wanted him to stay that way. They all needed someone as normal as him around to remind them that their lives didn't always run in circles of the supernatural.

Bonnie found the room and entered, finding Matt with his bright, sea blue eyes open, staring at the ceiling. When the door flung open, he turned his head a little to look at Bonnie and smiled feebly.

"Hey," mouthed Matt and Bonnie walked over to him, sitting on the metal chair, taking his hand and smiling back at him.

"Hey," she said and squeezed his hand a little. He looked like he was getting better. "Where's Elena?" She asked but he couldn't speak. He only shrugged a little and Bonnie nodded understandingly.

Bonnie stayed with Matt, just sitting silently while the nurses came in and out. Then when he fell asleep, she stood up and took out her phone, dialing Caroline's number swiftly.

The phone rang for only a moment and Caroline answered, she sounded a little breathless when she spoke. "Bonnie! Where are you?"

"At the hospital, with Matt," replied Bonnie. "But Elena's not here?"

Caroline fell silent on the other end of the line and Bonnie raised a brow. "Caroline?" She called, checking if she was still there.

"Bonnie…" started Caroline and Bonnie could feel it in every part of her body that something was very wrong. "You might want to go to the boarding house. I'll meet you there." Caroline told her cryptically and then she hung up on her.

Annoyed, Bonnie put the phone down and looked over at Matt. He was still fast asleep. She decided to leave for a while and then come back later to see him. He needed someone around and since neither Caroline nor Elena was around, Bonnie needed to be there.

Bonnie left the hospital and as she drove in her car, she kept thinking of all the worst case scenario's of what could have happened to Elena. She couldn't think of anything positive. It just didn't come to her. It was all around the air that she was breathing, something was wrong with her best friend.

It was a long drive to the Salvatore boarding house but she was driving over the speed limit. She wasn't afraid of getting caught because after the things she had been through, getting a ticket for driving over the speed limit was nothing.

Abby was trying to find a way to track down Klaus/Tyler so that Bonnie could undo the spell. Bonnie though, had no intention of undoing the spell. Abby was failing to understand that what she had done was the right thing. By not really killing Klaus, she had saved everyone's lives. She was sick of being pushed around and Abby was the last person that was going to force her into breaking the spell.

Bonnie reached the house and she got out quickly. She noticed that there was a black '69 Chevrolet Camaro parked in front of the house and she wondered whose car it was. It surely wasn't Damon's or Stefan's. _Then whose is it? _

Thinking of it as irrelevant, she hurried into the house where she could hear faint laughter and chatter. When she entered the parlor, Damon was sitting on the couch, twisting his lapis lazuli ring around his finger and there was a brunette headed girl standing, facing her back to Bonnie.

"Elena!" cried Bonnie but when she turned, she realized that though they looked exactly the same, it wasn't Elena. It was her doppelganger, Katherine. "Where's Elena?" She asked without waiting to be surprised. She should have expected Katherine to return since Klaus was dead.

Bonnie considered the idea to torture Katherine a little but she didn't. She now had a serious thing against all vampires and witches, except for Caroline.

Then from another part of the house appeared Elena, dressed in her clothes of last night. Behind her, came out a green eyed woman, a dark brown eyed woman, Jeremy and one of her very own, Lucy.

"Lucy?" asked Bonnie as she stared into Lucy's soft brown eyes.

"Bonnie!" exclaimed Elena and she ran towards Bonnie and Bonnie hugged her as they met halfway. "I'm so glad you're alright." Bonnie nodded and for just a brief moment, she felt guilty for lying to her friends but it was replaced by the feeling of vengeance against the witches, who had used her.

"I'm glad your okay but weren't you in the car with Matt?" Bonnie asked as she slowly let go of Elena.

All of a sudden, it felt like Bonnie had said the wrong words. Everyone's eyes fell, even Katherine's and they looked back up at Bonnie with pity. Elena stepped back from Bonnie and she looked over at Damon, biting her lip a little. Bonnie tried to read what Elena was trying to say but she failed.

"'Lena?" called out Bonnie and she put her hand on Elena's arm but Elena shook it off.

"Bonnie…I…" Elena was stuttering and then looked down again, then back at Damon and then back down again. "I'm…" She kept starting to say something about herself but never ended up finishing the sentence.

"I'm a vampire," said Elena so quickly that at first, Bonnie thought that she had heard it all wrong.

Bonnie's senses shut off, except for her sight. She could see Elena mouthing words that she didn't want to hear. Damon appeared next to Elena and tried saying something as well but Bonnie didn't want to hear it either.

Bonnie felt cursed. _Everyone…_She pressed her lips together and when she opened them, a harsh gasp escaped and her other senses flooded back into her. "No." Bonnie whispered and she ran out of the house. She heard Elena and Damon calling out her name but she ignored them.

Jumping into her car, Bonnie drove as fast as she could to get away from the boarding house. After everything Bonnie had done to make sure that Elena remained human, even she turned into a vampire. She stopped the car when it was deep inside the forest and she got out, falling onto the damp forest ground.

The warm tears streamed down her face and she cursed the witches out loud. She hated everything around her but most of all, she hated herself. She hated herself for letting Stefan and Damon live. She should have killed them with the Gilbert device months ago. She could have done something about it. _Everyone I love has either died or turned into a damn, fucking vampire. _Bonnie sobbed and she pressed her face against her knees.

Feeling like her whole world crashed down on her, Bonnie stared at the forest that stretched out for a while before it reached town. She wasn't crying anymore. She couldn't feel anything. Lucy was right when she said that the middle of it was exactly where she needed to be. Unfortunately, Bonnie failed. She chose a side. She chose to be with vampires. Not anymore. Everything was about to change.

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**I feel like I've made Bonnie a little bit too dramatic but in my mind, I can totally imagine Bonnie doing that. I thought of making Bonnie okay with Elena being a vampire but I wanted this to be her shining moment, where she could actually start to stand out.**

**As you should already probably know, I don't like Bonnie very much but I want to give her really judgy personality a little flare. We'll see what happens. Review? Thank you :D**


	11. Petrova History

**Sorry for no update. I'm most likely going to update on Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's :/ Yeah, well. Enjoy (:**

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**Elijah's POV**

He could hear murmuring voices from inside the boarding house. He recognized both voices immediately and was quite staggered to hear the second voice.

'_You want a blood bag?' _asked Katherine from inside the house and he took a moment to listen to her voice, letting it sink into him. After so many centuries he would have thought that the feelings were gone but obviously they weren't.

Elijah closed his eyes and remembered what his love for Katherine had done. He betrayed his own brother. The night that Katherine had fled, Trevor only helped her because he was compelled to help her. Elijah compelled him to make sure that Katherine got away safely and he put up a show for Klaus to make sure that he never found out about what Elijah did. He only wanted to save her life. Then when he kept her trapped in the tomb, it was also for her safety because he knew that when Klaus got to town, he would torture Katherine. Everything he had was to protect Katherine.

Shaking himself out of Katherine, he knew it was hopeless thinking about it. Katherine wasn't the loving person that he knew. She was cruel and she only thought of herself. Although, it didn't help let the feelings go away.

Elijah walked towards the door and knocked twice, not wanting to barge in on them. He heard footsteps come over but he couldn't tell whose they were. He stepped away from the door and waited very patiently for the person to open it.

It was Damon that had opened the door. He looked a little drunk, holding a glass that contained some amber liquid in it. Elijah gave him a polite smile and got straight to the point, "We need to talk."

Damon stared for a moment and then said quietly, "Go to hell." Then like last time, the door slammed at his face and he sighed.

It seemed very natural for Damon to send him away as Rebekah did try to kill Elena and Matt. He found it to be completely alright but because of the situation at hand, if he needed to, he would have to force them to listen to him.

Elijah opened the door and walked into the house. Damon tried to sneak up from behind but Elijah just threw him to the side like he was a feather and continued to walk further into the parlor.

"Look Damon, I understand you are angry with my sister but you're just going to have to put those feelings aside for now," he told Damon as he sat down on the couch and sighed once more.

Damon stood up and glared at Elijah but he didn't make any further movements.

Then from the other side of the room, another more worry filled voice appeared. "Damon, are you alright?"

Elijah turned his head to look at a straight haired brunette girl standing at the other end of the couch, staring at Damon before glancing towards Elijah, mostly surprised and a little scared. Elijah stood up, still very ashamed of what Rebekah had done and knew that it was up to him to apologize to Elena.

"Elena," he began and walked towards her. As soon as he took his first step, Damon appeared in between the two and created a barrier, trying to protect Elena. Elijah understood the action and took a step back. "I am truly sorry for what Rebekah did. She feels nothing but guilt and shame for her actions."

Damon scoffed and turned his eyes to Elena who simply nodded. "Thank you, for apologizing." She told him and looked down at the ground sadly.

As Elijah looked at her, he suddenly realized, and was astounded that he hadn't noticed it before, that Elena was not the same girl that he saw the night before in her house. She was no longer…"You're a vampire."

Elena's head shot up and Damon's eyes fell. All the signs were there. No more pounding of her heart and no more scent of her sweet blood. She turned. _But how? _

Seeing the look on Elijah's face, Elena understood very quickly the question in his mind and started to explain what happened to her. "When I was taken to the hospital, Meredith gave me some vampire blood and when I died in the car crash…" She paused and nodded as Elijah should have understood the rest of the sentence.

There was a short period of silence between the trio and they were interrupted by a pair from the door and a group from wherever Elena had appeared from. At first Elijah, looked towards the pair that came from the door. It was Caroline and Stefan. Then Elijah looked towards the small group of one boy and three women that came from where Elena had been in earlier.

He was taken back by one of the faces that he saw in the group. It was the face of a person that he believed for three years to be dead and here she was, standing in the same room as him. First he thought his eyes were deceiving him but no, it was really her. "Victoria?" He said his thought aloud and everyone's mouth hung slightly as they turned their attention to the shortest girl standing in the middle of the group. "I thought you were dead."

She looked exactly how she did when he last saw her three years ago but there was more fire in her eyes. She surely wasn't a vampire and she couldn't have been a ghost. She did die that night. He was a hundred percent sure of it.

"How do you know who I am?" asked Victoria, stepping away from the group, despite the disapproval of Caitlyn.

The attention once again returned to Elijah and he wasn't sure how to answer. He wasn't sure where to begin explaining the story to her. He just stared at her, still a little irresolute about her being alive. How was it possible?

Just as he was about to answer, a look alike of Elena appeared and stood in front of Victoria, guarding her just as Damon had guarded Elena. _Katherine, _he thought melancholically and took one step backwards. He didn't think she would leave the basement, expecting her to stay there until he left but she couldn't leave Victoria in the same room with an original. It was part of the compulsion.

"How do you know my name?" Victoria asked once more, this time more demandingly.

Everyone remained in their spots, somewhat frozen, just staring from Victoria to Katherine to Elijah, waiting for someone to explain something.

Elijah maintained eye contact with Victoria's dark, deep set eyes. "I know your name because I'm the one who made sure Katerina found you and protected you," he finally answered, easing everyone's conscious but also creating more questions.

Victoria was breath taken by this answer and her pink lips formed a perfect 'O'. Everyone in the room, except for Caitlyn, was in a state of perpetual astonishment. Caitlyn was the only person in the room who was completely aware of what Elijah was talking about, excluding himself of course.

"What?" Victoria let out and she moved Katherine away. Katherine tried to hold her back but Victoria was almost next to Damon. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a little complicated to explain," said Elijah. He let out sigh and knowing Victoria the way he knew her, she wasn't going to let this go too easily. "Please, sit and I will tell you everything."

Victoria hesitated but sat down without question. Elijah sat down next to her. Stefan and Caroline walked a bit more into the parlor and stood by the table where all the liquors were and Damon and Elena stood in front of the couch to get a better view of Elijah. Caitlyn, Jeremy, Katherine and the other woman stood in their place.

Letting out another sigh, Elijah began his story. "Right after Katerina fled, I also had to run away because I could no longer be around Klaus. I found Katerina's child soon and I followed the Petrova bloodline till it led me to your mother, Isobel." Katherine walked closer and only stopped when Elijah looked up at her. He felt dead inside when he looked at her. That face was all that he loved and hated.

Elijah looked back at Victoria, who was inquisitively looking at him. "I was trying to make sure that there was no doppelganger for Klaus to use to break his curse. Unfortunately, I had to go away from Mystic Falls because Mikael was getting close to finding me and I couldn't have him finding Isobel. It was around the time Isobel was pregnant with Elena but I didn't know this."

Elena didn't seem very surprised by this or maybe she was good at hiding it. Victoria glimpsed at Elena and looked back at Elijah, waiting patiently and even more curiously for him to tell her more.

"I found Isobel around the time when she was pregnant with you. It was because of me she found out about vampires and it was because of me she wanted to become one. I told her everything, I knew I shouldn't have but I was planning on killing her anyway so I thought it didn't matter," said Elijah blankly and by this, Elena was and Victoria was a little upset. He was, after all, talking about both their birth mother. "But I didn't kill her. She gave you up and my interest in her faded because she no longer carried the Petrova bloodline" Elijah paused and looked carefully at Victoria. "You did."

Victoria's mouth hung again but she closed it more quickly. He noticed that her hand had been grasping tightly onto her leg the whole time she listened to him. "Why didn't you kill me?" She asked and he didn't know how to answer. It was an unexpected question.

_Why didn't I kill her? _He thought for a moment, not knowing himself as to why he didn't do it. He ignored the question and continued his story. "I made sure that you were out of Klaus's clutches and perfectly protected. I watched you until you were fifteen because around that time, Isobel found you." Victoria nodded, believing his story. "I thought of leaving you but when Isobel left, I couldn't leave. That's where Katherine came in." He paused and looked up at Katherine, feeling dead inside again. Katherine looked away from him, unable to look him in the eye and she was right not to.

"It was coincidence really. Katherine was just passing by Chicago, where you were at the time and since both Klaus and Mikael kept getting closer to finding me, I decided to leave Katherine to protect you." He pointed towards Katherine. "Of course, she wouldn't have listened to me just like that. I had to compel her to see you and keep you safe but the love she felt for you is beyond real." He wanted to make sure that Victoria didn't think that Katherine only stayed with her because she was compelled. It wasn't like that. Katherine truly did care about Victoria.

Then there was silence. Victoria glanced from face to face, not knowing what to think at all. She stopped at Caitlyn, who was looking at Elijah. She was expecting him to say something about her knowing about the story but he didn't want to be the one to break it to her. Caitlyn needed to tell Victoria herself.

"I need a moment with Caitlyn if that's alright," said Victoria and she stood up. Katherine was about to put her hand on Victoria's shoulder but instead, she pulled her hand back and looked down at the ground. "Thank you, Elijah, for protecting me." Victoria told Elijah, bowing her head just a little and she and Caitlyn went to the other room where they had originally come from.

Elijah sighed and stared at the other people in the room. He had been so distracted by Victoria and Caitlyn that the others were basically irrelevant. It was Elena who was the first to speak.

"But that isn't why you came here. You wanted to tell us something else," she said and took a step closer to him.

"Yes."

"What is it?" asked Damon before anyone else had the chance to.

"This will be rather awkward to hear," said Elijah and he heard Katherine mutter, 'Nothing could be more awkward than what you just told us.' Elijah took a while to put what he had to say in proper words because he wanted to ease them into it. "Um…it seems that you all…" He stopped, pulling his eyebrows together, thinking more about it. "Klaus, he…created your bloodline."

It wasn't the best way to ease them into it since he had technically thrown it at them but it was the only way he could think of at the moment.

"That's not possible!" shouted Katherine and she kept shaking her head.

"She's right," spoke Caroline, not looking at Elijah. "If Klaus created our bloodline, we should be dead."

"Like Tyler," said Jeremy from afar and he trotted towards them. Stefan shot him an angry look like he was supposed to be careful when he said _his _name and Caroline still kept looking down at the ground, thinking hard about something.

"Yes, that is true and that's what brings us to our problem," Elijah said softly and stood up, putting his hands in his pocket. "Klaus, regrettably, may not be dead."

With those last four words in the sentence, every pair of eyes in the room looked like they had just been shot in the chest. But it was what needed to be said because if it were true, their troubles were just about to get bigger.

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**Okay. I'll update really quickly. Tell me what you thought about Elijah protecting Victoria and stuff. I hope all the information wasn't too jumbled together this time but I still think it was. Sorry about that. Anyway. Thanks for reading (:**


	12. The Search

**Updating while I can. Enjoy :D**

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**Elena's POV**

"No, that can't be possible!" cried Elena, throwing her fist in the air.

Elijah looked down at the ground and Elena just didn't want to believe it. It hadn't even been a day since their problems felt like they had ended and now they were dealing with another one. It wasn't fair. Their lives weren't fair at all.

"I'm sorry, Elena but he's the only one who could have turned Mary." Elijah tried to explain but Elena didn't want to really understand. She just wanted to believe that Klaus was dead. She just wanted all their problems to be gone.

"Okay, say that Klaus did create their bloodline, then why was Tyler the only one who died?" asked Elena, practically shouting. She was angry. If Klaus did create Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Abby and Katherine's bloodline, then that meant that Klaus was still alive but what happened to Tyler? If Klaus was still alive then Tyler shouldn't have died.

"Kol and Finn were trapped in coffins. I was on the run; I didn't even know Mary and Rebekah swear that she didn't do it. There is no one but Klaus who could have done it," explained Elijah, getting closer to Elena.

Elena shook her head and turned around to face Damon. She looked up into his blue eyes and saw that he was thinking really hard about it. He was seeing how it could be a possibility. She wanted to hug him really badly because it was too much for her but she couldn't do that, not with Stefan in the room. It wouldn't have been right.

She turned around again, facing Elijah. "How is Klaus even alive? Alaric killed him right?" stated Elena to which Elijah merely shrugged.

Everyone stayed quiet, thinking about the possibility of Klaus being alive and what it would mean for each of them. For Damon and Stefan, it brought about a threat to Elena. For Caroline, it meant that Tyler was still alive. For Katherine, it meant she might have to run away again and for Elena? For Elena, it meant that her troubles weren't still at an end.

"Elena," called out Elijah, breaking the silence. No one but Elena looked at him. "I promise, if he is alive, I will find Klaus and keep him as far away from you as possible. You and all your friends and family will remain protected." There was a lot of honesty in Elijah's eyes. He was telling the truth but Elena shook her head.

"No," said Elena firmly and she looked at everyone. "If Klaus is alive, we'll deal with him when he comes. Right now –" Elena turned and nodded "– we should go on with our lives. Please, let's just forget that he even existed and try to live. We've all suffered enough." Elena was almost in tears when she said this, knowing how much she had suffered herself.

"Elena's right!" exclaimed Caroline, appearing next to her. "It's about time we all just lived!"

Nobody else said anything but Elena was glad that one person had agreed with her. She just wanted all the drama to subside, even if it was just temporary.

Elijah nodded and said, "Then I will leave you to your lives." He began walking away towards the door and Elena noticed how Katherine stared at him with the strangest look in her eye. She looked like she didn't want him to go. Elena expected Katherine to do something, run after him or call his name but none of that happened. Katherine just kept looking at him, hoping that he would turn around and stay. It wasn't right to intervene in something Elena had no business being part of but seeing how nice Katherine had been in the past few hours, Elena wanted to pay her back.

"Elijah!" She called and suddenly, Katherine looked away from him and looked at Elena. "This is your home. If you want to, you can stay in Mystic Falls."

There was a lot of disapproving stares coming from Damon, Stefan and Jeremy but Elena didn't care about what they thought. Elijah had just as much right to stay in Mystic Falls as the rest of them did. It was after all, his home too.

"Thank you, Elena." Elijah thanked her and then left the house quietly.

Elena could already hear the arguments and disagreements coming from the boys but surprisingly and quite satisfyingly, they didn't say anything. She turned to Caroline and hugged her tightly. She hadn't really given Caroline enough time to talk about how she was dealing with Tyler earlier and she needed to talk to her best friend. Especially now that one of them was so devastated by the fact that she was a vampire that they ran off, crying. She felt horrible about how this would affect Bonnie but there was nothing she could really do about it.

"Before you begin to ask me about how I'm dealing with the whole Tyler thing, I would like to say that I'm okay. Hurt, yes but I can't hold onto him forever. We have to let things go. I'm sure that it's what he would want too," whispered Caroline into Elena's ear as they hugged. Elena nodded, agreeing and was happy to know that Caroline was dealing with it well.

They let go of each other and smiled. It had been a while since they smiled because they were actually happy.

"Did Bonnie come by?" asked Stefan from where he was standing, looking around the house as if to find Bonnie lurking around somewhere.

Damon and Elena exchanged glances and looked down. Thinking about it made Elena want to cry.

"She did come but she didn't stay for too long," said Jeremy after a long time of silence. His eyebrows pulled in together for a moment and he looked over at Elena, who looked like she was going to break like glass.

"She didn't take it too well did she?" asked Caroline, supporting Elena by putting her hand on Elena's shoulder. Elena nodded a little and glanced at Damon, who wanted to go over to her, carry her and take her away from all the bullshit she was born to deal with. "'Lena, she'll come around. She did with me and her mom right? It's going to be okay." Then Caroline pulled her into a hug and they stayed there for a moment, comforting each other silently.

Elena let out a soft sigh and pulled away. "I just want to…lie down for a while okay?" Caroline nodded and let Elena run upstairs to Stefan's room, where she quickly closed the door and stood with her back to it.

She thought she was free. In the morning when Victoria had shown up and they resolved everything, she thought that that was it. All the drama that could possibly come into her life was over and now there was a possibility that Klaus was alive. She didn't want to think about it but what if he came back again? What would he do? He killed Katherine's entire family because she turned herself. Would he kill everyone that Elena knew as well? But it wasn't Elena's fault that she turned. Though that might not matter when it came to Klaus.

Elena dragged herself over to the bed and lay down. She wasn't going to sleep but she needed to lie down. It had been a tiring day. She just needed to take a moment of peace for herself.

**Damon's POV**

A few minutes had passed since Elena went upstairs and Caroline, Jeremy and Lucy went back into the kitchen to clean up. Stefan was sitting on the couch with his thinking face on. Damon knew clearly what he was thinking about without even asking. _Is Klaus still alive? _

Damon thought about it a bit more, trying to see how it could have been possible for Klaus to be alive. He tried recalling everything that happened that night.

He put the coffin in the storage, at that time; Klaus's body was definitely in there and in his dead-like state. Then Bonnie showed up and he left her there with him for a while. It was probably a while after she left that Alaric and Rebekah showed up. Alaric daggered Klaus, his body was burning, the coffin closed, Rebekah ran and Alaric went away as well, with the dagger. He personally witnessed Klaus dying then how was it possible for her to be alive?

Damon thought about it a bit more, creating a theory each time he thought about it. _What if…? _He began to think and was suddenly very intrigued by the theory he came up with.

"Stefan," he murmured and Stefan looked up a little.

"What?" He asked. From the look on Damon's face, Stefan could tell that something had popped up in his brain.

"What if," started Damon, furrowing his eyebrows, thinking about it and seeing how it was completely probable. "When Bonnie 'visited' Klaus, she took Klaus's soul or whatever and put it into Tyler's body? You know like, possessing Tyler?"

Stefan was about to retort but he thought about it for a moment and saw it as a very likely theory. "But why would she do that?"

"Because Stefan, if Alaric killed Klaus and if Klaus did create our bloodline, we would all be dead. She couldn't possible lose her mother and best friend could she?" replied Damon like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Katherine, who none of them had even noticed was still in the room, said, "We should get Klaus's body. Lucy and Caitlyn can find out if there is something in him."

They exchanged a few glances and nodded in agreement.

"I'll go," said Stefan and Damon scoffed.

"You're dearly beloved needs you. Stay, I'll go with Katherine."

Damon grabbed his leather jacket and checked to make sure his car keys were in there, took them out and went over to the door while Katherine followed behind him hurriedly.

They left the house and got in the car but just before they drove off, a man in a black suit appeared before them.

"What the hell, Elijah!" yelled Katherine, opening her window.

"I'm coming with you to retrieve my brother's body."

Damon opened his mouth to say no but Elijah beat him to it. "I wasn't asking." Then he got into the back of the car and sat down quietly, waiting for Damon to drive off.

Angered, Damon restarted the engine and continued to drive to the storage unit. They didn't really have time to argue about it. They needed to get the body before someone else did. It was about to play a very important role in deciding their next move.

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**There we go. I will update again, very soon. Promise. Review please? Thanks :D**


	13. Love

**Thank you for the reviews. I honestly love it when people review; it makes me want to write more and more. I feel terrible when I don't update but sometimes life is so hectic that I don't get the time to. Sorry about that but I will always try to do my best and update whenever I can. Bear with me. Enjoy this one (:**

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**Victoria's POV**

Sitting in one of the bedrooms in the Salvatore Boarding house, Victoria stroked the blood red nail polish on her fingers with her thumb. With her chin resting on her knees, she tied up her hair into a bun and let out a sigh, her mind drifting away slowly, thinking about her conversation or rather argument with Caitlyn.

"_I was only trying to protect you!" _she said and Victoria just shook her head at the words that seemed so meaningless. It was annoying the fuck out of Victoria that Caitlyn and Lucy didn't understand that she didn't need them. She could protect herself. She had done that for fifteen years without them and she spent the next three years becoming the best vampire hunter she could ever be.

Victoria slid her hand into her leather jacket and took out a wooden stake, which was also the first one that she made by herself and it was with that she made her first vampire kill. It was made from ash wood, fitted her hand perfectly and sharp, pointed at the end. Unthinkingly, she stabbed the white sheets and it went deep into the mattress.

"Woah!" She heard from the door and realized what she had done. _Fuck. _She thought and took out the stake.

Jeremy came into the room and with wide, brown eyes; he stared at the hole in the mattress. Then his eyes shifted to her and he sort of half smiled but got rid of it. "You alright?" He asked and she quickly got off the bed.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" apologized Victoria, pushing the short strands of hair that fell to her face. She looked at the hole and was secretly quite satisfied with it.

"It's not big deal. I'm sure Damon can afford to buy new silk sheets and a mattress," said Jeremy, rolling his eyes at the mention of Damon's name. Victoria noticed that Jeremy was very against the Salvatore boys and she could understand why. They did after all bring vampire drama into Elena's life, who Victoria also noticed, Jeremy cared about a lot.

Victoria sat down at the corner of the bed and smiled feebly at Jeremy. "I wasn't apologizing for the bed," stated Victoria. She didn't really care that she had made a hole in the sheets and the mattress. "I was apologizing for my behavior. This isn't how I am." She shook her head and her bun became a little loose, making some of her dark strands to fall. Half annoyed, she removed the black rubber and put it on her arm, where it stuck to her wrist with her black, blue and white beaded bracelet.

Jeremy took a moment to observe her face and then sat down next to her, lifting up his legs onto the bed and turning to a side. "They were just trying to keep you safe?" He said but it sounded more like a question rather than a statement.

"I don't need to be protected okay?" snapped Victoria and she glared at the hardwood floor, angry that everyone thought that she needed to be protected. She wasn't even the doppelganger for God's sake. She didn't need to be protected. She was fine on her own.

"Sometimes, we need someone to be by our side, to help us through…" Jeremy paused to glance at a half-Asian girl, with coffee colored hair, rosy cheeks, sad smile and brown eyes that were similar to Jeremy's, who was standing right next to him with her hand on his leg. "The tough things that life decides to throw at us." Then he looked up at Victoria but Victoria was looking at the girl.

_Who is she? _Asked Victoria in her head and kept looking at her but swiftly looked away when the girl suddenly looked back. Victoria kept her eyes focused on Jeremy's and nodded, even though she didn't really have a clue of what he just said.

"Jeremy, she can see me!" cried the girl and Jeremy's warm eyes were suddenly alarmed and they shifted from the girl to Victoria continuously before stopping to stare at Victoria.

"You can see ghosts?" asked Jeremy with the same alarm that was swarming his dark brown eyes.

Jumping off the bed, Victoria had intentions of leaving the room and going to Caitlyn to talk to her of how they were going to stay in Mystic Falls but Jeremy grasped her arm and turned her around to look him straight in the eye. The alarm was fading very slowly to be replaced by suspicion and question.

Unexpectedly, Victoria twisted Jeremy's hand and spun him around so that his back was now pressed against her body while the stake in her other hand was now pointed at the center of his flat muscled chest. The ghost girl was snarling, standing in a ready-to-pounce position in front of Jeremy. He was shaking a little, surprised by Victoria's strength.

She held him like that enough to hurt his arm and warn him enough to not do that again. Then she let him go and pushed him forward. Putting the stake back in her leather jacket, she sat down on the bed and narrowed her eyes at Jeremy.

The ghost girl was by his side, holding him tightly but he probably wouldn't feel her touch and Jeremy was still a little surprised. Once he was out of his surprise, he turned and looked at Victoria, slightly pissed at her.

Victoria's eyes dropped and she kept them down because she couldn't look at Jeremy. He now knew a secret of hers that even Katherine didn't know. It was a secret kept between only three people; Caitlyn, Lucy and herself. She could see ghosts, which also meant that she died.

"Elijah mentioned something about you dying," muttered Jeremy, walking towards her. He stood in front of her, keeping a minimum distance, afraid of what she might do next. "What happened to you?"

She didn't want to tell him what happened but it didn't matter. He knew she could see ghosts anyway so telling him wouldn't make a difference.

"I died when I was sixteen, accident with a vampire. I got distracted and it used this –" Victoria lifted up her ash stake "– to kill me. Caitlyn and her brother, Dean, took me to their house and they tried everything to save me." A cold shiver ran down Victoria's spine as she remembered how it had all happened. A Russian vampire that she had been chasing for a while had killed her with her own weapon. It was one of her most disgraceful vampire hunting moments and she never let one like so be repeated ever again. "Dean gave up his soul to bring back mine. It was the condition the witches laid out for him and he did it. I came back and found that I could see ghosts." Her eyes tore up a bit, small, particles of slightly salty water crystallized in her eyes and when she tried to blink them away, they fell. She hated to think that Dean had given up his life for hers.

Victoria wiped away her tears, not wanting to look weak in front of Jeremy or anyone else for that matter.

Jeremy sat down next to her and sighed. The ghost girl even came up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Victoria took in a deep breath and held the stinging tears in her eyes.

"I was shot by Caroline's mom. The ring that should have brought me back didn't work because she wasn't a supernatural being. Bonnie brought me back and that's why I can see ghosts," said Jeremy, telling her his story to be fair as she had told him hers. "Anna is my…" He stopped and looked up at her. She quickly removed her hand off his shoulder and stepped back. "She's my friend and she died several months ago."

Anna frowned and looked at Victoria. "I know why Jer can see me but how come you can too?" She asked and Victoria simply shrugged.

Jeremy looked at Victoria questioningly and then got off the bed. "Can I talk to you, Anna?" He asked Anna and she nodded. Then the couple left the room, closing the door behind them, leaving Victoria alone in the bedroom where she could feel little guilt about the lie she told Anna.

Victoria lay down on the bed, next to the hole and she kept her stake in her hand just in case. She got on her side and looked at the hole. Her finger couldn't reach the very end of the hole and she felt a little bad about what she did. It wasn't her property and she didn't even know these people too well. It wasn't right. She closed her eyes and circled the hole with her finger, wanting to fall asleep. It was a long drive from New York and she wasn't even able to sleep during the car ride.

As she was about to slip into a deep slumber full of dreams of dying, her finger was suddenly held by a cold hand that stroked her finger slowly. Her eyes fluttered open and gazed into a pair of hazel ones. With sunlit beige hair and a sexy half smile plastered on his face, he said, "Hey."

The tears that she had been holding back rolled down her nose and made a spot on the sheets. "Dean…" She whispered and felt her heart cripple with pain as she looked at his face. She hated him because he gave his life up for hers and she loved him because out of everyone in the world, he was the only person who understood her. Not even Caitlyn or Katherine knew her as well as Dean did.

"Don't cry babe," he whispered and moved in closer. She turned around and let him wrap his arms around her. That was the only good thing even though Dean was dead. She could feel him. With Lucy and Caitlyn's help, they managed and it nearly killed them both to give Dean a strong enough foothold so that he could still be here with Victoria whenever she needed him. The strange thing was that the foothold also affected Victoria. Now she could see any ghost, that's why she could see Anna.

Victoria didn't need to tell Dean anything about what happened during the day because he was there through all of it, holding her hand and whispering to her that it was going to be just fine. She drifted off to sleep soundly in Dean's arm and she didn't wake up anytime soon.

**Katherine's POV**

They arrived at the storage unit about five minutes ago and she was sitting uncomfortably with Elijah in Damon's car because he ordered her that Elijah could possibly take Klaus's body and try to bring him and just in case, she was supposed to guard him. She wasn't sure how she could possibly try to take down an original but Damon asked her to and since she was very unfortunately under his tight leash, she was obliged to obey his every demand.

Elijah and Katherine didn't speak. They only occasionally glimpsed at each, trying to read each other and then eventually, Katherine got much fed up off it and turned around, looking at his face observantly. She liked his haircut, it was much better than his curly hair or his slightly long hair before.

"Why did you send me to Victoria? Why not just leave Caitlyn and Lucy with her?" Katherine asked. She had been curious about that ever since Elijah revealed a much unforeseen truth to them.

Elijah looked up at her and they drowned into each other's eyes. Then he looked down and shrugged his lips before answering, "I thought you still had the love that you had before."

"I do not believe in love," replied Katherine instantly. Her brown eyes fell to the gray floor of the car and she kept them there until Elijah said something.

"That is too sad for me to accept, Katerina."

Katherine instantaneously acknowledged the conversation that they once had centuries ago and she smirked before going on with what was supposed to be her next moves. She lifted her eyes up to Elijah, fluttering her eyes seductively but she was afraid that he would deny her attempts of seduction.

"Life's too cruel," started Elijah and in unison, both Elijah and Katherine said, "And if we cease to believe in love, what would we want to live for?"

Then the strangest of things happened, as Katherine's eyes bore into his, she opened her heart to the possibility of affection for Elijah. She knew unmistakably that Elijah loved her but she had never put much thought into it because he tried to kill her once before. But things were different now. He had given her the sister that she could never have asked for and she was still alive. He could have and would have killed her but she was still there, sitting in the Camaro, moving her face close to his and he responded by doing the same. She looked down at his lips for only the lowest possible moment and kissed him avidly.

To her liking, Elijah kissed her back but gently and in a chaste way. It was hard kissing him with her in the front seat and him in the back seat but they stayed in the same position, letting their lips embrace each other like they should have centuries ago.

"This is even more surprising then what I walked into minutes ago," a voice of disgust said and slammed the car door, insolently breaking off their kiss. Katherine sat back in her seat, blushing profoundly and Elijah wiped the lipstick off the corner of his lips.

Katherine was nearly too distracted to notice that Damon had come back empty handed and furious.

"Damon, where's the body?" She asked quickly, putting her hand over his before he put the key into the ignition. She arched a brow and parted her lips to speak but Damon cut her off.

"It's gone." Then he roughly pushed her hand off his and started the car. "Elena and everyone else don't need to know about this. Somehow, we're going to find that body on our own," he told them in an ordering way before driving off.

Katherine felt panic filling her mind and abruptly planning an escape route in case Klaus was really alive and he came back to kill them all. But was she really going to run? Everything that happened in the past few moments, in the past twenty four hours, after all that, was she really going to run away from one of the biggest impacts that hit her life? She was finally on the brink of being happy. Elijah, Victoria, family…a home. A life that she always wanted and after all that, was she really still thinking of running away?

**Stefan's POV**

He climbed up the stairs in normal speed, mind filled with flashes of moments with Caroline. From the very moment that they met until the near-kiss in her kitchen – everything flashed back in his mind vividly that he felt as if he was re-living them. He needed to go upstairs and write in his journal about all the feelings that he was feeling that he desperately needed to express because containing them all in him wasn't helping anything.

When he entered his bedroom, Elena was standing in front of the mirror, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black, to some extent loose sweater, barefoot. She must have found some of her clothes in his closet that she left behind months ago.

"Hey," he mumbled, disappointed that he wouldn't get to write in the comfort of his own room if Elena was going to be around.

"Hey," she mumbled back, turning around to look at him with a small smile.

Stefan could see, without even asking, that Elena was troubled by something. Naturally, he walked to her, hands in his pockets, lowering his chin by a fraction. "What's wrong?" He asked as he reached her and looked into her dark eyes that were full of doubt. She was somehow confused by something.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully and shrugged a little. She turned back around and stared at the couple in the mirror. Stefan and Elena. Elena and Stefan. Two people, who after so much were trying their hardest to hold onto something that Stefan could no longer see reason to holding onto, he didn't even recognize the people in the mirror. They were so different from the people who were actually standing in front of it. They weren't the same people anymore.

"Stefan," murmured Elena and he nodded. "What…" She shook head, stopping herself from saying what she really wanted to say.

"What is it Elena?"

Elena didn't reply, so they continued to look at themselves in the mirror. As he stood with Elena, for the first time in a long time, having her all to him to do whatever he wanted with her, in that moment, he had the strongest of urges to see Caroline. _What is this? _He asked himself. _What am I thinking? What am I doing? _He asked even more. Confused and puzzled by how his mind and heart were working, he stepped back and that made Elena turn around and continue what she wanted to say.

"What are we doing, Stefan?" She asked and looked him in the eye, no longer afraid of wanting to speak up for she but still very confused.

Stefan thought about it for a moment and then replied slowly, "I think…we're trying to fix something we lost?" But there was question at the end of his statement, not even sure of what they were doing himself.

"Is _that _really what we're doing? Are we really trying to fix it?" She asked even more, putting her hand on her forehead, bothered. "Or are we trying to hold onto something that was never even there?"

It was all very sudden and everything that they had been meaning to say to each was laid out there in the open. The reasons were really gone as to why he was holding on to her and why she was holding on to him and they were finally going to talk about it.

"I think it was there, Elena but I just don't think it's there anymore. I think it's reached a point where it isn't fixable," said Stefan, biting the inside of his lip.

"Maybe."

They stayed quiet for another minute or two and then Elena sat down on the bed, still keeping eye contact with Stefan. He followed her over there and put his hand on her leg.

"Can I just ask you one thing, Elena?" Elena nodded and pulled her lips back then returned them with a tight smile. "Is it because of Damon?" She immediately opened her mouth but then closed them. He thought she was afraid because there was a tiny bit of fear in her eyes. "It's okay if it is because of him. I get it. I was gone and I did a lot of awful things and he was there."

The fear went away, allowing her to speak freely. "It's not entirely because of him. I still have to work out whatever it is that's going on between me and Damon but you and me…I don't know where we stand…" Her voice faded and she shrugged again.

"We stand right here," he told her and lifted her up, holding her hands in his. He smiled, showing her that he wasn't sad that their relationship had truly come to an end. "We're exactly where we need to be, Elena. This is where we always have been. Never going back, never moving forward. The sooner we let each other go in that way, we'll both be able to really be happy." He explained and nodded to her, still smiling. The end of their relationship was entirely mutual.

Elena nodded and smiled as well. "Just because we're not like _that_ anymore, I still want you in my life, Stefan. I don't want to lose you." She bit her lip and hoped sincerely that he would stay in Mystic Falls. He could leave if he wanted to but he wouldn't.

"Elena Gilbert, you and I are now officially very good friends," he told her and kissed the knuckles of her palm. She smiled and thanked him.

A huge weight on his shoulders lifted up and he felt lighter, freer. Of course he would still stay in Mystic Falls, for his sake and for Caroline and he would stay Elena's friend. He could finally move forward.

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**This is probably the longest chapter I have written so far (: I hope I ended things with Elena and Stefan smoothly. Tell me if I could have made it any better. There will hopefully be more Delena now. Review please? Thank you (:**


	14. Only You

**I would like to point out that this is not just a Delena story. I know I've said it before but you have to understand that it is also partly TVD. You may not like that but it is just how it is. Thank you for the reviews. **

**Caroline's POV**

She could not believe what she just heard. Elena and Stefan breaking up and it was entirely mutual. After everything they ended it with each other. The epic love was over. She was surprised as to how mutual the break up was. Even if Elena didn't want it anymore, she thought Stefan would still want to be with Elena.

Feeling barely ashamed about eavesdropping on their break up, Caroline plopped down on the couch and bit her lip. She was more surprised at her own reaction over the break up. She expected to be disappointed or at least trying in the smallest bit to get them back together but no. She was actually, and atypically, happy about it. How could she be happy about it? Her best friend just broke up with her boyfriend. _Really Caroline? _She asked herself.

Moments later, Elena and Jeremy descended from the staircase and were on their way to the door. Caroline got up and went into the hallway and called out, "Hey!" They both stopped and turned around to look at her. "Where are you guys going?"

"Home," Jeremy said and walked out the door. Elena, who was now dressed in an old sweater of hers and a pair of jeans, came up to Caroline and explained why they were leaving.

"We have to go home," she started. "Things should and hope to dear god, go back to normal now." There was a lot of happiness and hope in her voice. It was the sort of happiness that Elena lost when her parents died. Caroline was more than happy to see Elena happy. She deserved it after all the hell she had been through. "Do you want to come with us?"

Caroline shook her head, glanced up the staircase and Elena understood. Elena nodded and smiled at three women who came down the stairs. Victoria, Caitlyn and Lucy came down and Victoria said, "Are you ready to go?"

Elena nodded once more and all four of them left the house.

Sighing, Caroline made her way up the stairs and when she reached Stefan's room, she didn't even know why she was there. Why was she there? Shouldn't she be with Elena, trying to console her or something? But it didn't seem like Elena needed any consoling. She seemed pretty happy with the decision. Then why was she here to see Stefan? _What am I doing? _

She shook her head, letting some of her bouncy blonde curls fall to her back and she turned on her heel, ready to leave and instead turned back around, put her hand on the door knob, entering the room to find Stefan dressed only in a pair of dark blue jeans.

Her eyes gazed upon his body, his abs, his bareness. Stefan's body was ten times better than Tyler's body. It was so damn gorgeous. _I mean…dayum. _She thought and half smiled. She imagined all the things she could do to that body. What she loved most was the rose tattoo on his forearm. She loved guys who had tattoos but not too many, one or two was just fine with her.

When Stefan noticed her staring, he said in a not-so-Stefan-like way, "Like what you see?"

Her eyes fell bashfully to her shoes and she blushed profoundly. Still with red cheeks, she looked up and said, "Not bad, Salvatore." He smirked and walked towards her, putting on a button down, maroon shirt.

"Are you…erm…going somewhere?" She asked, trying to keep her eyes on his but they occasionally flicked down to his body. Within seconds, his God-like body was covered up by the shirt. She would have loved to rip it open but she had to control her hormonal rages.

"I thought I'd go to the Grill, get some lunch, grab a drink and enjoy this sunny, beautiful day," he told her and she barely even recognized the tone in his voice. Normally his voice was all broody and depressing but in that moment, it was full of life and like Elena, happy. "Would you, Caroline Forbes, honor me with your company?" He then put out his hand for her to take.

She glanced down to his empty palm to his cheerful green eyes. She knew in her heart that she shouldn't have but it felt more than right. She wanted it so badly and she didn't know how long she had wanted it but now, oh now, she wanted it more desperately then she ever even craved for blood. He was Elena's ex-boyfriend and it hadn't even been twenty four hours since Tyler died and despite those facts, she put her hand on it and he kissed her knuckles. "I would be delighted to."

All the way to the Grill, they talked and they laughed. And they were happy, just like they were meant to be.

**Rebekah's POV**

He had his hand wrapped around her neck tightly, nailing her to the cream colored wall and she tried her hardest to kick him but it was pointless. His grasp was too tight. She couldn't breathe anymore, not that she really needed it but not breathing didn't feel natural at all.

"Tell me 'Bekah, where is the body?" growled Elijah. Rebekah tried to kick him away but it was making her lose the only energy that she had left. It was bad enough to lose two brothers, now one of the only one's that she had left was pinning her to the wall, asking her questions that she didn't know answers to.

What annoyed her even more was that there was a bystander, who she hated immensely, watching silently with pleasure and she didn't like giving her the satisfaction.

"I don't know…" She managed to say and tried to take a deep breath quickly. "What you're talking about!" Then Elijah released her and she fell to the ground, hitting it hard.

Elijah paced around and Katherine watched him cautiously while Rebekah took in lungful of breaths just to survive. She stood up, gathering whatever energy she had left and glared at the two.

"What the fuck is going on!" yelled Rebekah and they didn't answer. Rebekah knew that Elijah's behavior was all influenced by the doppelbitch. If it weren't for her, he would have had a civil conversation with her and not gone ahead and attacked her like a wild dog.

Pissed at how the two were acting, she let her eyes roll at them. Then Katherine asked, "Where's Kol?"

Leading on Elijah and considering Kol as an option. Rebekah had very low opinions of the doppelbitch, even more than her doppelwench, Elena. Rolling her eyes once more, Rebekah answered flatly, "He's in Bournemouth if you must know."

Elijah turned and asked, "And where's Ester's body?"

Rebekah looked around the house that Klaus had built for them and found the wooden coffin in the other room. She ran to it, opened it and looked at her mother laying peacefully in it for a minute. "Right here," she yelled in reply.

Katherine and Elijah ran over, in vampire speed, and leaned over the body. Elijah snapped his fingers and ran them through his hair.

"Would someone like to fill me in?" Rebekah asked once more and still they didn't answer, instead, they started their own little conversation, which annoyed Rebekah even more.

"What do we do now?" asked Katherine, stepping forward with her dark eyebrows pulled together.

"We go and tell Damon." They nodded and were about to leave the house and Rebekah followed after them, stepping in front of them and stopping them from leaving the house.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked once more and this time, they didn't have a choice to answer. Katherine looked down at the ground and if Rebekah had been a human, Katherine's voice would be inaudible.

"Klaus might still be alive."

Rebekah couldn't even believe it when she heard Katherine say it. Of course Elijah and she had considered the idea but they didn't have time to act on it further because Rebekah fled to go to the hospital to check up on Matt and she was there the whole of last night and most of the early morning. It was only just now that she came home and got attacked by Elijah.

"I'm coming with you," she told them, lifting her chin up confidently. They were surprised by this and raised their eyebrows. "Nik controlled my whole life. He took away all the happiness I could have had in the world. I'm not going to let him come back and take over again."

Both Katherine and Elijah were quite surprised and even relieved that Rebekah was on their side and not on Klaus's. It was high time that she became her own person and not Klaus's puppet. As much as she loved her brother and her as much as she always would love him, he needed to be put under control. Maybe Ester and Mikael were right. They were abominations but out of them all, Klaus was the biggest abomination.

"I gave my word that no matter what happens, no harm will come to anybody in this town. If you switch sides, Rebekah, I cannot help you," said Elijah, melancholic that there might be a situation in which they would each have to turn against one another.

Despite that, Rebekah nodded in agreement to the terms and they left the house with one goal set in their mind: finding Klaus.

**Damon's POV**

He swallowed down the remaining vodka in his glass and set it down. Then he got up, not even bothering to pay for the drinks that he consumed since he set foot into the Grill because he compelled the bartender to give him as much alcohol as he desired without payment. He wasn't even drunk, which wasn't good because he needed to be a little to get his mind off trivial things.

Damon noticed that Vampire Barbie and his goody-two-shoes brother, Stefan had come into the bar over an hour ago, laughing and talking to each other. He was curious as to where Elena was but then had to remind himself that Elena was no longer his responsibility. Especially now that he was leaving town.

Yes, he was leaving town. He was keeping up to his end of the deal that he made with Stefan. He was going to leave Mystic Falls and all the drama behind in it to go and find Klaus's body. With the help of Katherine and Elijah, it shouldn't be hard to do that.

As he was leaving the Grill, he saw the Vampire Barbie and Stefan were still at the pool table with bottles of beer, laughing and talking to each other. Stefan was probably in denial but Damon saw exactly what was happening there. Everything that he once felt for Elena was now very slowly moving onto Caroline. His brother really did have impeccable timing for things.

He got into his car and drove to Elena's house. The drive wouldn't have been so long if he hadn't driven so slowly. He wanted to get around town as much as possible. Since it was his last night, he wanted to see the town and remember it exactly how he would leave it. Who knows how it would look in the next hundred forty five years so he needed this because he surely wasn't coming back anytime soon.

When he reached the Gilbert house, he parked his car and saw a black Camaro in the drive way. It was Victoria's. He grunted. It's not like he needed this to be harder than it was. He just wanted to drop off the letter he wrote, explaining to Elena why he was leaving and why he wasn't going to come back.

He got out of the car and looked at the cream porch. _Ah, the memories I have there. _He thought to himself and smirked.

One memory was when he nearly died the night John Gilbert decided to play hero. Then he came to this house and thought he kissed Elena but turned out that he kissed Katherine. It was disappointed but at least the next time, he got luckier.

'_If I'm going to feel guilty about something, I'm going to feel guilty about this.' _He remembered the kiss like it happened yesterday.

He got himself out of memory lane and went up to Elena's room, where he opened the window and entered with ease. She wasn't upstairs. He froze at his spot and listened around to see where everybody was. They were all downstairs, watching 'How I Met Your Mother'. He didn't expect them to come upstairs anytime soon, which meant he could leave the house and get out of town quickly. He would call Stefan later to say goodbye, for now, it was more important to say goodbye to Elena.

Damon pulled out a white, neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and opened it to check for the last time if there were any spelling mistakes or anything. Basically, the letter told Elena about why he was leaving and how she should live her life to the fullest and that maybe one day, in a hundred years, they might see each other again.

He placed the letter next to her leather green diary, knowing that that would be the place she would find it the easiest. He gave the letter a small smile and moved away from it, knowing that if he looked at it long enough, he would regret it. He slowly walked around the room.

Once again, Damon took a stroll down memory lane. All the lovely and terrible memories that he had in that room; playing around with Elena's teddy bear, trying to force Elena to admit that she felt something for him, snapping Jeremy's neck, telling Elena that he loved her, asking her why she saved him the night they went looking for Stefan, when they were in bed together and she told him that Stefan would come back but not for her, for Damon, down to the moment when he was going to leave it all behind him and move on to a future in which he knew that he wouldn't be happy at all but that's how it was meant to be.

"Goodbye, Elena," he whispered to the room and he was right at her window when a voice whispered back to him.

"Damon."

He turned around and plastered a fake smile. _Things just got waay too complicated. _He thought as he tried to hold in the words he wanted to say and the emotions that begged to be revealed on his face. He was holding back too much for him to contain that he just had to frown but quickly replaced it with a smile again. "Hello, Elena."

"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking a step forward and looking around the room. He let his eyes roll and he told her, "Just passing through. Neighborhood watch and all." He winked and turned back around to leave.

"No wait!" said her panic filled voice and he looked at her. Her doe eyes were glistening a new light. She didn't look tired or sad like usual but instead, she looked happy and hopeful. He assumed that things were good between Stefan and her, even if Stefan was falling for Vampire Barbie. He wasn't going to spill the beans to Elena, not when it was the first time that he had seen her happy.

Still keeping his own happy façade on, he told her, "I'm kinda in a hurry Elena. Maybe we can talk in the morning." He was meant to nod but accidentally shook his head. He thought she wouldn't notice so he just waved at her and walked towards the window, opened it and felt a cold breeze on his face. He felt like salt was being rubbed into his deepest wound. This was the last time he was going to see her in the longest time and he knew that he should say goodbye properly but he couldn't do it. He didn't have the strength in him to say goodbye to her because he didn't want to.

"Stefan and I broke up," she said hurriedly, not even adding an emotion to the sentence. It was empty and blank but it was true. Even if everything else was missing, there was truth in the statement.

Damon closed the window and sat down on the place where Elena normally sat to write on her diary. "So?" He murmured, looking at her straight in the eye. As hard as it was for him to let her go, he wasn't going to stay. The fight they had earlier told him that it wasn't going to work out. Elena made a choice and he couldn't stay back. He should have left even earlier. He should never have even come back from the storage unit.

"We need to talk, Damon," she whispered and stepped forward. With her left hand above her right hand, she kept stroking it on her own, as if to comfort herself. Her eyebrows were pulled together and she bit her lip, which he found so sexy.

Smirking, Damon cocked his head and stood up. "Tomorrow morning, Elena." He waved again and felt his heart swell. Lying to her was the worst pain that he could cause her, especially now. There was going to be no talk in the morning because there was going to no Damon in the morning.

"Damon, please!" cried Elena and this time he froze to listen to her. She nodded and got even closer to him. "I want to apologize about the things I said before. I realize, only now, that you've been here for me from the very start." _Elena, please, stop. _His heart cried out but he kept a smile on his face.

Damon shrugged and smirked. "You're welcome, warrior princess." He winked at her and bit his lower lip, controlling the stinging, hot tears.

"Both you and Stefan have made mistakes and I forgive them all. I'm going to need time you know, to get used to being a vampire and letting things take its course to getting back to normal."

Just as his hopes were beginning to rise above from the ground, they fell back down with a great bang. He shook his head and smiled, hurt by her words. He thought he wouldn't have to leave anymore. He thought he could stay behind and that now Elena would want to be with him but no, she didn't. Whether it had something to do with Stefan or not, Damon was never going to be the one that she wanted.

**Elena's POV**

She spun around, putting her hand on her forehead and then pushing her hair back. Damon looked like he was frozen in his spot. She wasn't even sure what she was saying or what she even said before. Everything was just all blurry and she was letting her heart speak and her heart was barely making any sense.

Upon reaching her bed, she noticed that her green diary was there and smiled at it. She was about to pick it up and then she saw the folded piece of paper on top of it. She picked it up and glanced back at Damon, furrowing her eyebrows. He was staring at the ground and not even bothering about her. She looked at the paper, intriguingly, and opened it.

'_My dearest Elena, _

_If you are reading this right now then it means that I'm already gone. No wait, don't run to go and find me, just read the letter okay? _

_Okay. What I wanted to say is that I'm leaving or in your moment, I'm gone. I left because you made your choice and I don't want to stay behind to be a damper in your happiness. You deserve to be happy. I meant it when I said that I didn't deserve you but my brother does. _

_I'm not big on goodbyes so I probably didn't even see you later. Don't worry; there are pictures from your birthday party if you want to remember how much of a sex-god I was. We'll see each other soon, sometime, in hundred forty five years or so. Take care, Elena. _

_-Love, Damon.' _

Her mouth hung open and she didn't even realize that with reading the last line of the letter, it had fallen down on to the bed and she was now standing in front of Damon. "You were going to leave?" She asked with blurry eyes. They were already tear-filled, hurt and feeling betrayed by someone who she was going to accept.

Damon escaped his haze of thoughts and he entered reality, getting an instant shock by Elena's words but he replied back edgily, "I'm not your boy toy anymore."

"And you were just going to leave like that?" She shouted but she lowered her voice, not wanting Jeremy or the others to barge in on them. "You weren't even going to say goodbye!"

"I'm leaving, you can live your life and we'll all be in a better place!" He shouted back, holding her arms tightly. She wished that he would just hold her like that. She wished he wouldn't leave her. She wished she was still a human so that she could be compelled by him because that was what he looked like he wanted to do. "Goodbye, Elena."

Then he pushed her back and turned around to the window. He would leave in less than a second and if she didn't revitalize herself quickly enough then he would be gone forever.

"You told me that you wanted me to get everything I wanted!" This time Elena shouted, not even caring if Jeremy or Victoria or Lucy or Caitlyn heard but they probably wouldn't because she could hear the sound of the television even without her vampire hearing. She just needed Damon to listen to. "I want you."

Damon turned around in disbelief. It was like he didn't even hear her right so she repeated her words again. "I want you." As she looked deep into his fathomless blue eyes, she could see the love and the burning desire that was brighter than ever. She stood on her toes to reach his ear and whispered, "It's right, right now."

Elena could feel the terribly strongest outburst of desire from both of them and his hand was suddenly on her smooth cheek. She closed her eyes, loving the warmth of the touch. He kissed her harshly and she kissed him back with the same intensity. All the passion, all the burning flames of desire, all the unspoken love between them was released in that one kiss. It was different from all the other kisses because this time, neither of them had to hold back on anything because this time, they were finally each other's. Damon was Elena's and Elena was Damon's. It was how it was meant to be and how it was going to be, forever.

His wet tongue slid into her mouth and she greeted it with her own tongue. He tasted of mint and vodka. With her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling at his silky raven hair, she moaned in his mouth when he cupped her bottom and lifted her up. She secured her legs around his waist and Damon walked over to the door, holding her and kissing her overpoweringly.

She regretted holding back for so long. She could have had all this. _Consumed. Passion. Adventure. Danger. Love. _Everything that she ever wanted.

The door slammed shut and Damon took her to the bed, where she fell and he laid top of her, planting kisses from down her jaw to his neck to her chest and he ripped her sweater open, revealing herself to him. She smiled and slithered her nail down from his neck to his chest, making a circle before breaking away the buttons, revealing his well-sculpted body to her. She felt breathless looking at it.

Loving her new vampire strength, she turned him over and was now on top of him. She grinned and kissed him while working on the button of his jeans. Once it unbuttoned, she slid them off for him and he took her by surprise, turning her around and draping his body over his. His hands securely held her wrists and he kissed her, making her moan in pleasure once more.

The main event had come and gone. Elena was lying next to a bare Damon, both of them covered by her comforter. She breathed on his chest and looked up at him who was looking down at her.

"Elena," he said before kissing her forehead. He gazed at her brown eyes and it felt like he was piercing through her soul. "I love you." When she heard his voice say those words, her heart fluttered and she felt a powerful outburst of affection. She propped herself on her elbow and gazed back into his electric blue eyes, half smiled and moved her lips close to his, her eyes never leaving his and said, "I love you, Damon."

Then she kissed him, this time more softly but still working with the same passion that she lacked for the longest time and now it was here to stay with both of them, always.

**I hope I did justice to their relationship. Honestly, I was totally lost on how to write the whole scene but I'm actually really satisfied with it. I smiled through the whole scene. I know I didn't go into details, it's only because I'm terrible at writing those kinds of scenes and this was the best I could do. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading (:**


	15. Plans

**Hi :3 I believe I'm writing after two weeks or something. I love the reviews, glad I did Delena justice and I promise, there will be more of them now. Enjoy :D**

**Elena's POV**

Walking down the familiar hallways with familiar faces was more than relieving for her. It had been forever since she had come to school and known that when she went back home, she wouldn't have to worry about something going wrong. She could just do her homework, make dinner, hang out with her indescribably wonderful (and super hot) boyfriend, (but boyfriend was hardly the term that she could really use for Damon. It was too ordinary for someone like him) Damon, and sleep, knowing that the next day would be even better than the last.

With Caroline on her side, talking about how her mom was never home and how much she hated that Lucy, their new history teacher, gave them so much homework to do. Elena honestly didn't even mind. She liked that there was homework. It made her feel close to her human side and so did school.

Victoria, Lucy and Caitlyn officially moved into town right after they held a funeral for Alaric. The best part of the funeral was that through Jeremy, Alaric gave his own speech as to how much he loved and missed everyone in Mystic Falls and how he would always be there for them.

Lucy, Caitlyn and Victoria quickly moved into Alaric's old apartment. Victoria, for the first time since she was fifteen, was attending school. Lucy replaced Alaric as their new history teacher since they needed a source of income and Caitlyn was a very generous volunteer to all the events that Mayor Lockwood held.

Matt was out of the hospital and going back to school again. He took the whole vampire-Elena situation much better than Bonnie did and was trying to make things seem as normal as possible.

The days were much better now, for all of them. Every Friday night, they would meet up at one of their houses to have dinner together and they would watch a movie, play a game and just hang out and considering the amount of life and death situations each one of them placed themselves in, they needed to spend as much time to together as possible while they still could. On Sunday's, Jeremy and Elena would visit their parents, John's, Jenna's and Alaric's grave and then have brunch at the Salvatore boarding house with everyone else. Somehow, through all the supernatural entities, they came together as a family and were, each in their own way, were happy. Truly, unexplainably happy since the longest time.

For Elena, there were only two bad points. One was that Bonnie, even though they had nearly every class together and they saw each other around time all the time, didn't talk to her at all, let alone look at her. She tried to talk to Bonnie but Bonnie would just cast her witchy-headaches and run away, like she couldn't stand the sight of Elena. That was terrible.

The second bad part was that Damon, who promised not to leave ever again left once a week or two. What concerned her most was Katherine, Elijah and much to her annoyance, Rebekah went with him. She could stand Elijah and partly Katherine because Elijah seemed to keep her on ground and so did Victoria but Rebekah was a different sort of trouble on her own. Damon and Rebekah had history that Elena couldn't help but feel jealous about it.

Two implausibly, hectic and blissful weeks passed by. It was the end of the week and it was also Elena's turn to cook dinner for the gang. She loved having everyone around. It made up for the loss of people she dealt with. The only two people that were missing were Bonnie and Damon. She could accept Bonnie's absence as Bonnie couldn't even stand the sight of Elena but Damon had once again gone out of town with his own little gang. She didn't even know when he would be coming back.

"Is Damon going to around for dinner?" asked Caroline, stopping in the middle of the busy, crowded hallway.

Just as Elena opened her mouth to answer, her phone buzzed and she took it out of her pocket quickly. "Speak of the devil." She smirked and answered. "Hi."

"I was thinking we do a Thai style dinner tonight," said the breathtaking voice through the phone and the corners of Elena's lifted up.

"Sure. It's not like I can cook," she replied as she started to walk again. Caroline listened in one the conversation. At first Elena thought that Caroline would be against the Damon and Elena being together but everyone was okay with it. Except for maybe Jeremy but he was coming around to it. Elena noticed how close Caroline and Stefan got during the past two weeks and Elena made it clear to Caroline that it was alright if Caroline had any feelings for Stefan whatsoever.

Returning back to her conversation with Damon, she could feel him smirking from wherever he was. "So Thai food it is then!" He said, excitedly and Elena's smile grew more and her heart kept swelling from the joy she was feeling. "By the way, we should probably get you a new car. Can't go around with Victoria as your personal driver."

_How did Damon know Victoria drove us around this week? _Elena thought and arched her dark brow. "Damon? Where are you?" She questioned, once again stopping in the crowded but subsiding hallway. She could feel Damon smirking over the phone.

"In the sun, near my car, with loads of people," he replied cockily and Elena shook her head, hanging up on him. She said a quick goodbye to Caroline and rushed outside of the school. Her heart pumped a million times faster when her eye caught Damon's blue ones.

Walking up to him, Elena noticed that Damon was holding something behind his back but she couldn't quite see what it was. She folded her arms across her chest when she neared him and stopped walking, keeping a minimum distance between them.

Damon pulled out a bouquet from behind his back that was filled with carnations and four roses dotted in different parts of the bouquet. "I'm sorry for being away for so long," he apologized, holding out the bouquet for her to take.

Elena stared at it with disbelief and gave Damon the impression that she wasn't going to forgive him and after a moment, she took the flowers, threw it in his car and kissed him on the lips, longingly. She smiled in between the kiss and whispered, "Apology accepted." And they kissed for a while longer before releasing for a quick breath.

Damon drove Elena home, talking about how things were in Mystic Falls while Damon was gone and what exactly they, or more specifically Damon, was going to cook tonight. When they reached Elena's house, Victoria's car was parked in front. She most likely gave Jeremy a ride home.

"I took the liberty of getting everything we needed before going to pick you up," said Damon as they entered the kitchen. There were at least five brown bags on the counter. Elena shrugged her lips and smiled at him.

"Get to cooking then Mr. Salvatore," she told him, poking his chest and dropped her bag on the floor. Damon rolled his eyes at her and took out everything he needed.

Sitting on the counter, holding a glass of apple juice, Elena watched as Damon cooked. He cut some spring onions, tasted whatever was in the pots, returned to taking a sip of his wine and went back to cutting, tasting, stirring and well…cooking. She liked that Damon could cook. He definitely cooked a hell lot better than Stefan ever could.

After a while, Elena got bored of just watching Damon and got off the counter, wanting to help him out a bit. She knew how to cut and stir, she could definitely do that. She felt a little guilty making him do everything.

"What are you doing?" He asked when she grabbed a knife and thought of slicing some bell peppers that Damon put out to make a salad.

"Helping you out."

Laughing, Damon took the knife away from her and said, "You were helping me just by sitting and staring."

Elena scoffed and stole the knife back from him. "Come on Damon!"

Realizing that she was pretty serious about helping him out, he allowed her to slice the bell peppers and then mix the cucumbers, grated carrot, whole roasted unsalted cashews, spring onions, fresh coriander and fresh basil. After that, he sent her back to her seat on the counter and continued to cook.

She had to admit that just watching Damon was satisfying. After such a long time of him being away, she was happy just by seeing him, without words or touch.

It was around 7 when Damon was finished cooking. He added whatever finishing touches that he needed and smiled at his artwork of food.

"Are you done?" Elena asked, tilting her head to a side.

Damon came over, walked his fingers up her thighs, grabbed them, pulled her closer to his body and whispered, "Yes, I'm done." He planted a small kiss on her lips. He was going to leave it at that but Elena couldn't stand it anymore. She needed him. There was too much unfulfilled desire in her that she needed. Like as if she had been stranded in a desert for months, Damon seemed like a tall glass of water then.

The bond they shared was sizzling with the red-hot attraction they shared, which only added fuel to the fire. Damon's hands were all over her, exploring her while her fingers pulled his hair, their tongues dancing until they were interrupted by a cough.

Stopping, both their eyes shot towards a dark haired girl standing at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Hello Victoria," greeted Damon, not moving from his spot.

"Caroline, Matt and Stefan are here," said Victoria calmly and grabbed the salad bowl. "I could use some help setting the table?" She asked and Elena nodded.

Damon stepped aside to let Elena get off the counter and take out plates for everyone. Once they were done setting the table, having a peaceful dinner and cleaning the table, everyone headed to the living room, where Caitlyn had arrived just in time to have some chocolate mousse.

As they ate their sumptuous dessert, they watched some TV and talked amongst themselves. Damon and Elena were sitting on the floor, tangled up in each other. Caroline and Stefan were sitting rather close to each other, giggling and whispered to each other. Caitlyn and Victoria were sharing a few discreet looks. Matt and Jeremy were probably the only people who were actually watching TV. To any person, this would have been an ideal picture of the normal family and that's what they were going for.

**Stefan's POV**

It was a quarter to eleven and Caroline and he were on their out of Elena's house. For what seemed like the first time, Damon wasn't by Elena's side. Not that Stefan minded at all. He knew very well that Elena had feelings for Damon and he no longer had any right to stop her from doing what she wanted. It was, again, her choice.

"Bye 'Lena," said Caroline, pecking Elena on the cheek and they were out the door. Matt, Caitlyn and Victoria left nearly fifteen minutes ago and now Stefan was going to drop Caroline home.

Ever since the break up with Elena, Caroline and he had gotten closer than before. They spend every waking minute with each and he didn't know about her but even his dreams were spent with her. He was falling for her, deep and hard without any control over himself.

He drove as slowly as he could so he got more time with her even though they had spent as much time together as two people possibly could. He frowned when they had to pull up in front of her house.

"Thanks for the ride, Stefan," said Caroline, grinning but he couldn't even lift up the corners of his lips a little. She was going to leave and he didn't want that. He wanted her to be there, in the car with him, just for a while but he didn't want to push her. Especially because he didn't know how she felt about him.

It would seem strange for everyone who knew Stefan to even consider the idea that Stefan was falling irrevocably for Caroline. For months he was whipped by Elena and then suddenly Caroline but only he knew that it wasn't sudden. It was a very slow process but it built up to something so strong that he couldn't even appropriately describe it. Starting from the day he told Elena that he didn't want her in Chicago, it was like he freed himself from this great big weight that was shouldering him. From that day on, he thought about Caroline more and more and found himself thinking of her in ways that were inappropriate but he thought it and felt it and it excited him. It was different and something new. He needed that.

Caroline got out of the car and so did Stefan. He walked her to the door, biting the inside of his lower lip nervously. He was never nervous around a girl, not even around Elena but with Caroline, nothing was normal. It was all this big empty canvas where anything could happen.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" said Caroline and Stefan nodded. He just stood there, frozen, staring at she took out her key and put into the keyhole. "Stefan?" She asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "You alright?"

Stefan tried to nod but he couldn't. He wasn't alright. There was something he wanted to do. Something he had been waiting months to do and if he didn't do it now, then would he ever get the chance to ever do it again? He tried to think it over but there was a part of him, a part that he normally shut out because it was the bad part of him, the part that made all of wrong decisions but he made them anyway.

And he kissed her. It was…magic…pure but with this forbidden feel. Nothing like the kisses with Elena. The way her lips connected with his. It was right, and somehow, among all of the dizziness and the clinging to each other like a life line, something inside him changed, never to be reversed. He liked that she was kissing him back.

"No," She whimpered and clasped her hand on her lips, blocking him from kissing her any further. "No, Stefan…"

_What have I done? _With a tortured look on his face, he stepped back and put his own hand on his lips and couldn't even look at Caroline. It was wrong. _But it's right. _His mind was corrupting him. He couldn't do that. Even if he wanted it, Caroline didn't.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," was all he could say before he began to walk backwards.

"No Stefan!" cried Caroline, stepping forward, dropping her keys. "I didn't mean it like that…I just meant…I want to take it slowly?" There was question at the end of her question and despite that, she kissed him on the lips, not for long but at least she did.

Turning on her right heel, Caroline picked up the key and opened the door. "I'll call you tomorrow," she said and got into the house quickly, shutting the door behind her and leaving Stefan alone and partially satisfied on her porch.

He walked back at snail's pace to his car, replaying the kisses over and over his mind, along with her words. _I want to take it slowly. _He could do that. He could take it slowly. He needed to take it slowly. He needed slow, steady and stable. Nothing like how it had been with Elena. _Slow, Steady and Stable. _

**Damon's POV**

Elena was at her dressing table, writing in her leather green diary. She started writing again right after their first night together. Everything about that night sprung back to him vividly. If he had to list his ten favorite nights, that would definitely be number one on his list.

She was his. It seemed so unreal. He still had to watch her as she slept, afraid that if he blinked, she would be gone and it would have just been a dream. He was making the best of it as he could, spending all the time he could with her, never wanting to let her get hurt.

But he couldn't spend all his time with her and it was all because of a problem that Elena wasn't even aware of. As far as she knew, that problem was long dead but it wasn't. _Klaus, _he thought of name as viciously as he could. He sort of wished that he had daggered him himself.

Damon tried not to go away as much as possible, generally sending Elijah and Katherine or Rebekah to check up on the leads that they had but there would be moments when he had to go, just so that he knew exactly what was going on and so that none of the three would betray him. So far, nothing like that has happened. He had fairly small trust in them.

They weren't even close to finding Klaus but he left behind messages, showing that he was alive. The best message he left behind was hybrid boy, Tyler. Rebekah had to compel him to stay in Canada until he was told he could leave. It was a good thing that he wasn't sired to Klaus anymore but Klaus didn't seem like he wanted much to do with him.

"What's on your mind, right now?" asked a velvet voice and Damon just shrugged.

"I was just thinking that I'd rather have you here with me instead of all the way over there," he said, frowning. Elena smiled, put down her pen, closed her diary and was suddenly on top of him.

"You mean like this?" She asked.

Looking into her doe eyes, Damon couldn't believe how much Elena had transformed. She wasn't that sad little girl who lost her parents. She was happy now and fun. She was who she was when he first met her and he loved that.

Elena slid off him and lay down beside him, her cheek resting on his chest. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "I'm tired," she yawned. "You'll stay here tonight, right?"

Caressing her smooth hair with his fingers, he nodded and kissed her on the forehead. "Mhmm." He didn't want to leave her side, not for another minute but not everything went the way he wanted. He couldn't stay with her all night; he had to go back to the boarding house because Katherine and Rebekah would be coming back later. They called earlier before he was on his way to Mystic Falls, saying they found something and it wasn't pretty.

As he lay there with her, he realized how much he missed her being a human. Not that he didn't love her. He loved her. It wouldn't have mattered whether she was a vampire, a witch, a werewolf, a ghost, a human or even a hybrid, he would always love her, though that didn't mean he didn't miss her being human. She was still the same person but when she was human, he was relieved that she was human because it was something that he didn't have. Something that he missed desperately but he could never have.

When Elena was finally fast asleep, Damon snuck out quietly, taking the window as his way out and climbed into his car, driving away quickly before Elena woke up and realized that he was once again, gone.

**Katherine's POV**

"He's on his way," said Katherine and threw her phone onto the couch where Victoria was sitting. Victoria was frowning, unhappy that Katherine had been away and lying for such a long time. Katherine had never lied to Victoria before but hey, there's a first time for everything. Katherine didn't bother apologizing. Sure, it was Victoria, the person she had been most honest to after herself but Katherine wasn't one to apologize for anything she did. She didn't feel regret for it and therefore, an apology were hardly even necessary.

Victoria was about to say something but her phone rung and from the look on her face, it was either Lucy or Caitlyn. Standing up, Victoria walked out of the house so she would be away from the vampires in the house.

Luckily, Stefan wasn't home. It was only Elijah and Katherine. Rebekah was at her house, probably taking a shower or sleeping or feeding. Kol was also back in Mystic Falls but for the time being, he was hiding in his house for Damon's sake, which was actually for Elena's sake.

"Where's Victoria? I made her tea," said a disappointed voice from her left. Katherine turned, half smiling, half smirking when Elijah appeared, holding a mug of tea in his hands.

She went over to him, in vampire speed and murmured, "She had to excuse herself for a moment."

"Oh." Elijah put down the mug on the table nearby and returned to Katherine. He stroked her face with his fingers and kissed her on the forehead. "How was your trip?"

Katherine paused to answer, thinking more about her relationship with Elijah than about the trip. _Elijah. _Everything was so pure with him. He was really was a gentleman. They hadn't even had sex, which annoyed her a little but she was trying to deal with it. At least they were together.

"Tiring. I actually want to sleep," groaned Katherine and Elijah smiled at her words.

"After talking to Damon, you can take a warm shower and sleep," he told her, turning her around and walking towards the couch, massaging her shoulders.

"Are you inviting yourself to do both those tasks with me?" Katherine whispered softly, half wanting him to say yes and half not wanting him to hear it at all.

There was a pause in which he didn't speak nor massage. She thought she had upset him and instead he leaned in, huskily saying, "Maybe." This made Katherine grin like a fool.

They sat down on the couch and poured her some bourbon, which she needed and he sat with her, caressing her hair. He slowly slid the sleeve of her tank down and kissed her shoulder lightly. This was too much for her. She turned around and kissed him hard. She needed him, right there and then. It wouldn't have even matter if Damon or Victoria or anyone had walked in on them, she just needed him so dreadfully.

"Katerina," protested Elijah between the kisses, holding her arms roughly but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She kept kissing him, her hands unbuttoning his shirt. He finally stopped protesting and let her do as she pleased. _This is more like it. _

"Not on my couch, Katherine," groaned a voice and she smirked at hearing it.

"Lovely to see you too, Damon," she whispered, unhappy to have gotten interrupted by him. She got off Elijah and sat down, neatening her curly locks and smiling at him. "You look like you could use this." She handed him her glass of bourbon and he downed it in a second.

Elijah was re-buttoning his shirt and he also smiled at Damon. "How was your trip back?" He asked politely and Damon just shrugged it off. Katherine rolled her eyes at him and glared. Damon wasn't very approving of Katherine being with Elijah but it wasn't any of his damn business anyway.

"So why have I been taken away from Elena and brought here?" asked Damon, impatient and grumpy. Katherine rolled her eyes even more at the mention of Elena. She still didn't like Elena much and now disliked her even more for several new reasons. One was that she was now with Damon. Two was that she was getting too close to Victoria, which Katherine didn't like one bit and three, because of Elijah (and basically everyone in this town), who for some reason 'cared' about Elena, Katherine wasn't allowed to harm a hair on her body.

Katherine bit her lip and stood up, getting a safe distance from Damon. What she was about to tell him wasn't going to please him. "Well…when I went to see Victoria at their apartment, Caitlyn was there…" Katherine dragged and walked around the parlor, making sure that she was far from Damon. Elijah watched her, knowing what she was doing and Damon's gaze followed hers. "And she sort of touched my hand and saw the night in the storage unit and." That's where she stopped.

"She saw what?" shouted Damon and he would've snapped her neck if it weren't for Elijah who arrived to her rescue, standing in front of her and Damon.

"Caitlyn just wants to help!" said Katherine, as if it would make things better.

"Who else knows?" Damon asked, gritting his teeth. And then things got a little bad again.

"Victoria," Katherine muttered and her eyes fell onto Victoria, who was standing at the entrance of the parlor, her hand in her jacket to take out her stake but Katherine shook her head, assuring her that things were fine but still Victoria stood on guard.

Damon turned around to look at Victoria as well and went over to her. Now Victoria's stake was out and it was pointing at Damon.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Damon spat out and dragged Victoria by her arm to the center of the parlor. "I want to know how you can help me find Klaus."

Victoria stared at Damon and shifted her eyes to Katherine for a moment. Katherine gave her a nod of approval to tell him what she needed to say and Victoria spoke confidently but softly, "I can't but Alaric can."

Katherine tilted her head to a side and ran to Damon, standing right next to him. "Alaric's dead," stated Katherine bluntly and she noticed Damon's electric blue eyes drop and rise.

Not looking Katherine in the eye, Victoria answered to Damon. "He's here."

Damon caught onto what was going on sooner than Katherine did. There was a quick smirk on his face but he removed it for Katherine's sake who was still a little in shock in light of this revelation. "You can see the dead," said Damon and took a glimpse of Katherine's poker face.

"Alaric says that Klaus is going to New Orleans. There's a witch there," Victoria took a breath and listened to Alaric. From where Victoria was looking at, Alaric was sitting on the couch. She looked up at Damon, continuing. "He's trying to see how Elena is. He has a few hybrids, along with the blood bags filled with Elena's blood."

"Why is he trying to get Elena if he has her blood?" Elijah asked. He was now at one end of the couch, eyebrows pulled together in question.

"Because he needs the Petrova bloodline to exist. He needs to check on Elena, make sure that she's still alive," answered Victoria, looking from where Alaric was possibly at to Elijah.

There was a moment of silence where Damon stepped away and paced around and Katherine stared at Victoria in disbelief. How had she not told her? There were like sisters, family and Victoria kept this from Katherine. Why?

Damon stopped pacing and said, "Call Caitlyn, tell her to get here and Katherine," he pointed his finger toward Katherine. "Tell Rebekah that she's going on a little trip."

Both Katherine and Victoria nodded, attending to the task at hand. This time, they were going to take Klaus down for good.

**Klaus's POV**

He smiled as he looked up at the rearview mirror, happy to see his face instead of Tyler's. After throwing his pawn away somewhere in the middle of nowhere, he left to find the two things he needed most: a witch and Elena Gilbert.

The first thing was going to be easy to find, especially in New Orleans, which was a place packed with witches but he would only go there if his Plan A didn't work out. Although Elena Gilbert was going to be easy to find, she would be difficult to take. Her protection was bound to be a little down with him supposedly dead but he still had to be cautious. He couldn't blow his plan too soon.

First thing was that he had to get a witch to help him get Elena. Then as soon as Elena was in his clutches, he would take her and travel the world. He would compel her as soon as the vervain was out of her system and make sure that she has no intentions of running away. She would be truly his and he could be free for good, ruling the world as he pleased. Damon and Stefan would be complete failures at finding him. If Mikael couldn't do it, then the Salvatore brothers had no chance at all.

Klaus parked his jeep in front of the modern day home and got out. He got the house and knocked on the door once before it flung open.

"I never thought you'd come back to me, darling," said the woman in her early forties, smiling brightly. "Come in." And when he did enter the house, she hugged him and kissed him full on the lips.

"Please Savannah, business first," Klaus reminded her and they went into the living room, where she had already prepared everything for them. They sat across from each other, the small coffee table separating them and Savannah hurried to be over with the job that he asked her to do.

Klaus handed her the little bottle of Elena's blood and she let a few drops fall into the bowl and a fire was suddenly created out of it. Savannah chanted a few witchy words and Klaus could feel the magic happening. He closed his eyes and saw himself standing in Elena's bedroom. There was a brunette haired girl sleeping peacefully, blanket covered up to her torso and her left hand underneath on of the pillows.

"It isn't her," he muttered and Savannah gasped.

"This is where she is," said Savannah, a little disappointed that it didn't work.

"This one isn't human. It's her doppelganger, Katerina," he told Savannah and Savannah dropped a bit more blood into the bowl, chanted the same words again and he still ended up in Elena's bedroom.

"Klaus," Savannah said his name slowly and with her mouth hanging a bit, she finally croaked, "Your doppelganger's a vampire."

Angered and in the heat of the moment (also with realizing it was true), Klaus snapped Savannah's head off and the magic flowing through him stopped.

If Elena was a vampire then that meant…_what happens to the Petrova bloodline? _He got out of the house in a hurry, storming away in his car to get to New Orleans. There had to be a way to reverse it. Something had to be done. This couldn't be the end of his power.

**Right. There we go. I want to apologize for not updating. Therefore, this chapter and you should notice, is longer than the others :D Review please? I will most likely update tomorrow. Thanks for sticking around.**


	16. Prices to Pay

**Notorious Nat, if you haven't been checking up on spoilers like I have, then Julie Plec says that Joseph Morgan will return two or three episodes after the fourth season starts. And anyway, we never saw Klaus's body burn completely like we did see Finn and Mikael's. Keep that in mind ;)**

**Bonnie's POV**

"_Bonnie…" _A voice said her name in a husky voice. She ignored it, thinking it was only in her dream. As a witch, her dreams were much more vivid than normal. _"Bonnie…"_ The voice called out again and this time, it creeped out, she opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Except, instead of seeing the ceiling, she saw the face of a man that she didn't expect to see ever again.

Bonnie's mouth opened to scream but Klaus's hand was too fast. It clasped over it, muffling the sounds coming from Bonnie's mouth. She tried to give him a witch headache but he was too strong for that. When she stopped struggling and screaming, he released her mouth and got off the bed.

"It seems we have a problem, Bonnie," said Klaus, walking around the room. He tapped whatever his fingers came in contact with.

"_You _have a problem. _Your _problems aren't my problems," snapped Bonnie, switching on the lamp, giving them very dim light. Klaus turned around and gave a smirk.

"Yes, I remember. You're done being _pushed _around but you see, Bonnie, I can't have my blood bag dead," he muttered, frowning.

_Elena, _Bonnie thought and she looked down at her feet. It had been two weeks or something since she found out that Elena was a vampire and ever since, she had been ignoring Elena, Lucy, Caroline and everyone except Matt. None of this was Matt's fault so she couldn't blame him and he was the only human around.

Klaus came over and lifted Bonnie's chin. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Vampires were created with a spell and you witches always have a reverse spell. Find a way to reverse it. Give me back my doppelganger," growled Klaus and let go of her chin harshly. He patted her cheek softly and stepped away again.

"Ester created vampires. I don't know anything about it!" Bonnie shouted, staring at Klaus, who was now thinking about that fact.

He turned around and smiled. "But you are from Ayanna's bloodline. She created a reversal spell. She must have. Find it!" He ordered once more and when Bonnie blinked, he was gone. Her mind repeated the last two words that he said, _Find it. _If she did this, then it wouldn't just benefit Klaus, it would also help Elena and her. If she could turn Elena back to a human, things would be different. She had to find the spell. _Find it. _

**Abby's POV**

She knew within her heart that her daughter would do what Klaus had asked her to do. Not for him but for the sake of her friendship with Elena. _No, _Abby couldn't let that happen. Her daughter would be making a mistake, playing with the balance that had now been created. This was the price they had to pay for letting Klaus live. It was what needed to be done.

Abby left the house, got into her car and knew what she had to do. She had to stop this before it got worse. She had to make sure that Klaus died. This time, for good. Even if it killed her, she was once a witch. She owed the witches this much. She had to kill Klaus.

**Damon's POV**

"You know what to do now right, 'Beks?" said Damon, nodding for the last time before he headed out the door to return back into Elena's arms. Maybe he could take a nap himself. It had been a tiring few days with very little blood.

He yawned as he slid into the car. He explained to Elijah, Katherine, Rebekah and to his disagreement, Victoria and Caitlyn about what they had to do. Plan was that Original Barbie had to go find Klaus, act like the hurt sibling, gain his trust and zap him back to his half-vampire dead-dead state. With Caitlyn's help, that helped and they would be killing Victoria, who had a way to come back thanks to her warlock _ghost _boyfriend and witch besties. Katherine wasn't up to it, afraid that Victoria might actually die but Elijah convinced her. Maybe Katherine and Elijah weren't such a bad pair. After they had him back in his state, Elijah was going to hide the body in a safe place. Damon decided to trust him for the sake of Katherine. Elijah and Damon would then be the only two people to know where the body was.

_That seems simple, _thought Damon, yawning once more. _In words but in action? _

Damon parked his car in the driveway and he entered Elena's room quietly. She was still sound asleep. It was nearly dawn now. He slipped into her bed, cuddling next to her. There was no way that she slept half the night without noticing that he was gone. She probably woke up and gone back to sleep disappointingly.

She knew that he was back and wrapped an arm around his torso, resting her head on his chest. He moved some of her straight locks out of the way so he could kiss her temple. She smiled a little and slept for a bit more, like a kitten.

It felt terrible lying to her, sneaking around but it was for her own good. He knew she was a vampire now and honestly, in everything else, he would let her do things on her own but when it came to things that could kill her, he couldn't let her get involved in it. Elena's safety and for her to live is the most important thing to him.

"You left," she whispered, snuggling against him.

"I'm here now," he answered, not wanting to go into details as to where or why he left.

Elena opened her doe eyes and looked into his blue ones. She wasn't very happy that he didn't give her an explanation but she didn't push it. She knew that with Damon, when he decided to hide something, it would stay hidden and it would require a lot of persuasion for him to reveal it. It wasn't anything like how it had been with Stefan.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her, smoothing a strand of her hair, keeping eye contact. He needed to steer the conversation somewhere else.

Elena suddenly sat up and so did he. She looked down at her hands and fiddled with her thumbs. _What happened while I was gone? _He thought, giving her a questioning look. "Elena?"

"I had this dream where Klaus was watching me…" whispered Elena in a soft voice. She didn't look up at him for a while and when she did, all he could see was fear. "It felt so real. It felt like he was really here, still alive."

Damon tried to hide emotion from his face and pulled Elena in for a hug so that he could express his feelings without her seeing them. "It's okay," he told her. _No it's not. Had Klaus tried to get Elena? Is he back in town? _Questions flooded his mind.

This wasn't going how he had planned. He couldn't spend the day with Elena. They had to set their plan in motion today. If Klaus was in town or even if he isn't and if he knew that Elena was a vampire, then it wouldn't be good for any of them.

"Hey," Damon murmured, releasing Elena. "You know what we should do? We should head out to Georgia again." _Change of plans. _He couldn't leave Elena alone. He had to get her away, far away.

"What?" Elena questioned, raising a brow.

"We'll stay in a great hotel room, order room service and just leave Mystic Falls behind for the weekend!" He offered, jumping out of her bed. He walked over to her drawers and began taking out a few clothes for her.

"Damon!" She protested, coming over and stopping him. "What about Jeremy?"

"I'm sure the quarter-back, Barbie and Stefan can take care of him," he said, kissing her on the forehead before returning to rummaging through Elena's drawers.

"Damon. It was just a dream okay? I'm gonna go get dressed and make breakfast," she muttered. Elena ran a hand through her hair and went into the bathroom.

He balled his hand into a fist and threw it in the air. He took out his phone and texted Katherine. If Elena wasn't going to leave, then they had to find Klaus.

**To Katherine: **

**Change of plans. Get Caitlyn to find Klaus, ASAP. **

A minute passed and his phone began buzzing in his pocket and he took it out immediately.

**From Katherine:**

**Caitlyn's working on it. What the hell's going on?**

In the moment, the buttons on his phone seemed too small and he couldn't even type a reply fast enough. Not even in his vampire speed, it seemed too slow. He couldn't let the tension get to him.

**To Katherine: **

**Elena had a dream about Klaus. She said it seemed too real. **

Elena got out of the bathroom, dressed in her a red t-shirt and denim shorts. She yawned as she came over to him, planting a small kiss on his lips.

"I'll be down in a second okay?" Damon told her, his voice faking it at its best. She nodded and headed downstairs in her vampire speed. She took the whole transition very well and he had to say, he was proud of how well she took it.

His phone buzzed several times and he quickly answered the call from Katherine. "Did you find him?"

"_He's on his way to New Orleans. He's like half a mile away from there," _said Katherine through the phone. He could tell from the tone in her voice that she was already ruling this out as just a dream but he didn't see it that way. He couldn't underestimate anything that could hurt Elena.

Suddenly the voice changed to Elijah's. _"Damon?" _

"Yes?"

"_Klaus may have used a witch to try to transport him to Elena's bedroom. He wasn't physically there; he was just trying to find her. Chances are he knows Elena's a vampire." _

Damon pursed his lips and said, "Send Rebekah now. Get her to Klaus." Elijah agreed and hung up on him.

The plan was still ongoing. They were just tweaking the time and that wouldn't be a problem. As long as Klaus dies or rather fake dies, then it didn't matter. He took off his jacket, threw it on the bed and headed downstairs. Now, he just needed to act like everything was fine and make breakfast with Elena.

When he entered the kitchen, Elena was mixing something in a bowl. She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm making pancakes!" She smiled brightly. She was so beautiful. With her hair pulled up in a tight, messy bun, her dark brown eyes looking at the bowl, every aspect of her face was visible and he could have just stood there, forgetting all the troubles with that damn son of a bitch (which was more literal than could have been since Ester really is a bitch), Klaus, and gazed at the stunningly beautiful Elena Gilbert.

"Are you just gonna stand there or help me?" said Elena, interrupting his thoughts. He smiled and started with cooking some bacon.

With each others company, time flew quickly as they cooked. Elena was done with her pancakes and he was just about finished making the omelets. Elena stared at him for a moment before grabbing the spoon she used to mix the pancake batter and she took some on her finger. Then suddenly, she put that same finger on his left cheek.

His mouth hung open and the batter dripped down his cheek to his jaw. "Don't be childish, Elena." He muttered, wiping the batter off with a tissue and took the chocolate syrup bottle on the counter. He pretended to be pouring it on the pancakes but put some on his finger, turned and wiped it off on her nose.

"Who's being childish now?" She said, grinning and splashed some water on his face. She laughed as he blinked the droplets out of his eyes.

"Come here!" He said. He chased after her around the counter and eventually caught her arm, pulled her close. He slid his hands down her back, bringing her closer every time and grabbed her waist. He lifted her up and she let out a squeaky sound before wrapping her legs around him and kissing him roughly.

It was a powerful kiss, unlike others with Elena. She pulled his hair and threw her head back for him to kiss down her neck to her chest. A muffled moan escaped her lips and she took his face in her hands, letting their lips embrace again. As they were in their moment, he completely forgot about his problems. He loved how Elena could do that to him.

"Woah!" A voice cried. Damon released from the kiss and hid his face in Elena's shoulder and hair. "Jesus guys. I haven't even had coffee yet!"

Jeremy entered the kitchen rudely. He took a mug and poured himself some coffee. He took some pancakes, toast and bacon, putting it on a plate. "Continue," he muttered sarcastically, leaving them alone again.

"You think we'd ever learn that clearly, the kitchen is not the best place to do this?" said Elena with a straight face and they both burst into laughter.

Elena jumped off the counter and took two more plates outside to the table. Damon grabbed everything else and they had a normal breakfast together. Elena was trying extremely hard to keep things as normal as possible. This was how she kept it under control. She stayed true to her family and her human life.

They cleaned up and Elena went upstairs to tidy her room. Damon told Elena that he would be heading out in a while and that he would be back later in the evening so they could go watch a movie together. Elena agreed and let Damon go.

He stepped outside the house, grabbed his phone and called Katherine.

"_She's gone, Damon," _said Katherine as soon as she picked up.

"Where's Victoria?" He asked and Katherine took a moment before she answered.

"_Not here."_

"Call her, tell her that I need her to send Ric a message," he told her and drove away from the Gilbert house. He cut the call when Katherine said yes and hurried to the Salvatore Boarding house.

Damon had to make sure that nothing would happen to Victoria. He couldn't let Victoria die because if she died, then he would have two very angry witches and a very vengeful vampire after him on top of all the Klaus problems. Victoria was about to play a key role in this mission of theirs.

**Victoria's POV**

She parked the car next to a tree and took out her phone. Jeremy called a few minutes ago saying that they needed to talk and to meet in the forest. She left as soon as she could, not wanting to stay another minute with Katherine and Caitlyn. They were so sure that they could stop Klaus but she was having second thoughts of the idea.

She wouldn't back out of it. She couldn't do that to Katherine or Elena. She wanted to help and she was prepared to die again. Caitlyn, Lucy and Dean would bring her back. Just like last time but that was what she was having second thoughts about.

Last time, Dean died to bring Victoria back, who would have to die this time?

Victoria shook her head and looked to her side. Dean was looking out the window. He was holding her hand going over her nails with his thumb.

"No one's going to die," murmured Dean, turning his head to look at her. He smiled and kissed her knuckles. She smiled back at him and ruffled his hair.

"I love you," was the only thing she could say and he leaned into kiss her. His fingers were terribly cold against her cheek and she held them tightly, as if she could warm them up.

Dean let go and said, "Jeremy's here."

Victoria turned and saw Jeremy's car a few feet away. She got out and walked over to it. She had her stake with her and what could Jeremy possibly do? She knew that she was far stronger than him.

"Hey there," she said, leaning against his car.

"Don't hey me."

Quirking her eyebrow, Victoria stood away from the car, her arms crossed across her chest and she asked, "What's your deal?"

"Dean told me," Jeremy snapped and looked behind her, where Dean was standing. "You can't let them to do that to you."

Dean wasn't looking up at her. He stared down at the fallen leaves of orange and brown and the twigs that camouflaged slightly with the dirt. "I had to Victoria. I can't let you die," he whispered under his breath, glimpsing up and then looking back down.

Victoria shot him a murderous look and returned the same one to Jeremy. "It's not your problem, Jeremy. It's for everybody's own good."

Jeremy shook his head and shouted, "We can find another way to stop Klaus! Kill somebody else but not you!" Victoria couldn't believe the anger in his voice. She understood why Dean was trying to stop her but Jeremy? There was more to this than the two of them were letting on.

"Why does it even matter to you?" She shouted back at him.

Jeremy and Dean's voices collided but she heard clearly what they both said. "Because I love you," said Dean and "Because I'm your friend," said Jeremy.

Victoria shook her head and began walking towards her car. She didn't have the time or energy to argue with these two about something that she was convinced that she was going to do. It didn't matter who said what. If it stopped Klaus, who wasn't just a threat to Katherine and Elena but anyone that they knew, then so be it.

"I'm outta here," she told them, opening the car door but Dean appeared in front of it and refused to let her go.

"Victoria, please," he begged. There was a sparkle in his green eyes that she tried hard to resist. They were such gorgeous green eyes and she had to turn not to be mesmerized by them but when she turned, Jeremy was there. She was sandwiched between them.

Dean put his hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "Klaus can't know you exist."

She opened her mouth to speak but Jeremy grabbed both her arms, leaned a little to stare her in the eye. "You can't do this, Victoria." Her eyes fell to his hands on her arms before pushing him away.

"Why not?" She asked, trying to keep her voice under control.

"Because Klaus can never know that you exist!" Dean yelled and this was one of the few times that Dean had ever yelled at her. She turned around, a little in shock by his yelling and raised a brow, wanting him to explain further. She glanced at Jeremy, who was looking at his balled fists. Something was up with these two. They knew something.

"Dean?"

He looked up and shook his head, slightly teary eyed. "Lilliana's child, Rosalinda wanted to take revenge on Ester for letting Lilliana die and also for creating vampires. So Caitlyn and I had to pay another price."

Victoria's lips parted and she looked from Jeremy to Dean. They both had the same look on their face – crippled and distraught with a secret bigger than what Katherine had kept from her. "What was the price?"

**Abby's POV**

"I'm glad you're helping me," said Ester, smoothing the wrinkled parts of her white blouse. Abby nodded, smiling a little and then letting it fade. "Does your daughter know?"

"She's the reason I'm helping you," Abby replied quickly. She looked down and thought about Bonnie. She thought about how if Bonnie knew that Abby found Ester (who the Salvatores hid in the witches old house) and released her back into the world, about how mad Bonnie would be but it had to be done. Abby was only trying to help Bonnie. She was going to free Bonnie from the vampires, werewolves and hybrids.

"I see. Where is Niklaus?" Ester asked.

"I don't know. We have to find him," Abby replied once more, her voice in a monotone.

"Unfortunately, I can't use my magic. Ayanna gave me enough to return to the world and use it on simple things," said Ester in her perfect British accent. She sighed and added, "We're just going to have to lure him out."

Abby raised both her dark eyebrows and asked, "How do we do that?"

"Simple," Ester smiled and it slowly turned into a smug smirk. "We give him what he wants."

"And that is?"

"The Petrova bloodline," answered Ester in a very matter-of-factly tone.

"You're going to change Elena back to a human?" Abby asked, thinking that this had all been for a waste. If Ester was going to turn Elena back, then Abby might as well be helping Bonnie and not Ester.

"No," Ester stated. "There is one other that carries the Petrova bloodline, who without being a doppelganger is completely capable of creating hybrids." Ester smiled once more. Abby didn't like that smile. The smile itself seemed sweet but it was only sugarcoated. Her eyes were cold and murderous.

"Who?"

"Elena's half-sister," Ester said and she lit the candles in the room with the snap of her fingers.

**There we go. I like how everyone's divided into all these little teams. It's Damon, Elijah, Katherine and Rebekah. Caitlyn and Lucy (before Caitlyn, Lucy and Victoria), now Victoria, Jeremy and Dean, then Caroline, Stefan, Elena and Matt (who are completely oblivious to what's going on but they will know soon), then of course Klaus and his hybrids, and Bonnie's solo act and Abby and Ester. Ah. Let's see what each little team does :3**


	17. Explanations

**Hii. All I can do is apologize for not updating. I don't even have an excuse. I lost inspiration and I just couldn't write. So when I did try writing everything just sounded really bad and I didn't want to put that on here :/ Anyway. I'm still sorry. But here you go. **

**Rebekah's POV**

"Hey Matt," she spoke softly into the phone and as his name was said, there was a rush in her body that only came when his name was said. "You probably hate me but I just wanted to say that I really miss you. Okay. Bye."

Then she put her phone away and sighed, knowing, regrettably that that would most likely be the last time she would speak to him. After all, she was throwing herself into suicide mission. She honestly had no hope that she would be able to fool her brother long enough to put him in his "dead" state. But she needed to do this. Even if it risked her life because she had to save Matt.

That was all that mattered to her now. Matt. His honey blonde hair, his blue eyes and the way she could fall deep into them even though they glanced at her with absolute hatred. She cared about him. She wanted to protect him. She didn't know why but she just did. After all the running and the time she spent dead, he was probably the only thing that felt even remotely real to her. It didn't matter that she had to betray her brother, who she loved dearly, she just had to save the one thing that was real to her. That, and only that, was what mattered.

Rebekah walked forward, towards the coffee joint where she first spotted Klaus in the first twelve hours since she arrived in New Orleans. She just needed to get his attention.

She was going to bump into him. She was going to pretend like she was here looking for Tessie, a witch who once helped Klaus get away from Mikael. Klaus would go to Tessie first. There was no doubt about it.

Klaus exited the joint, holding a paper cup of coffee in his hands. _Okay, Rebekah. You can do this. For Matt. _She told herself, looked down at the ground and just bumped into him, hard.

"Watch where you're going!" Klaus shouted loudly and a few passing humans looked at the two of them. The coffee had spilled half on her and half on him.

"You could do the same, dick," she replied edgily and lifted her head, putting on her best shocked-surprised expression. Rebekah stepped back, placing her hand on her mouth, as if she were shocked by seeing her brother alive. "Nik?"

"'Bekah?" He said back to her and without faking, there were tears in her eyes. As much as she was trying to get rid of Klaus, it was still such a relief to see him alive.

"I thought you were dead," said Rebekah, her voice cracking a bit. She recovered and slapped him hard across the face. He deserved it. She went through hell before she drove Matt and doppelwench off the bridge. She really did think that he was dead.

Klaus put his hand on his cheek and rubbed it a bit, soothing the pain. "Guess I deserved that a bit." Then Rebekah pulled him into a hug and cried on his shoulder for a moment.

Suddenly, there were second thoughts about going through with the plan. He was her brother. She loved him. Family was supposed to come first, always and forever, right?

_No, no. _She couldn't back out now. Damon, Katherine, Elijah, the other two witches and that vampire hunter would track her down and kill her if she did. She had to go through with the plan. It was too late to back out now.

Klaus released them from the hug and asked, "What are you doing in New Orleans?"

Rebekah wiped away her tears and sighed. "I'm looking for Tessie. I was hoping that she could help me try finding a way to get you back. What are you doing here?"

Grabbing her by the arm, Klaus dragged her away from the spilled coffee and ran in vampire speed up to his car. "Elena's a vampire," he informed her something that she already knew. She wasn't going to tell him that it was her that slightly helped in the process of Elena turning because that would put their plan in jeopardy.

"I know. The Salvatores have been going around, even more worried than usual," said Rebekah quietly, rolling her eyes, trying to keep up her hatred for the Salvatores which wasn't really there. It was subsiding a little.

"I'm here to see Tessie. I need her to find Ayana's spell to turn Elena back to a human. I need my doppelganger," Klaus muttered through his teeth, climbing into his car. Rebekah ran into the passenger seat, fastening her seat belt.

"Then let's go," she told him, nodding. She put on a convincing enough act for Klaus to believe her. He trusted her and as bad as it felt to play with his trust like this, it had to be done. But that wasn't what was troubling her. It was the fact that there was a spell to turn vampires back to humans. If there was such a spell, then that changed a lot of things for every vampire. She needed to tell Damon quickly.

**Elena's POV**

Elena walked into Mystic Grill and noticed Caroline sitting near the bar, talking to Matt. She quickly walked to them and overheard Matt ask, "Have you seen Rebekah?"

"Why are you looking from Rebekah?" Elena asked as she reached them. Caroline pinned an olive with her fork and put it in her mouth, shrugging.

Matt looked down at his phone and said in a velvet voice, "She left me this cryptic message and I don't know, I just wanted to make sure she's okay. She hasn't really been talking to me."

"I think its cause she tried to kill you," said Caroline, in an uninterested tone. She understood why. Caroline was never Rebekah's biggest fan and liked her even less when she tried to kill Elena and Matt.

"Look Care, something's wrong okay? I know she tried to kill me but she's trying okay?" said Matt in his protective tone. Elena hadn't heard that tone since he broke up with Caroline. Did he like Rebekah?

Elena couldn't worry about that right now. She had much bigger problems to deal with. "I agree with Matt. Something's going on. Even Damon's been acting a little strange." Then all eyes turned to Elena. Caroline put down her fork and raised a brow while Matt put his phone back in his pocket without averting his eyes.

"Right," murmured Elena as she got their attention. She sat down on the stool next to Caroline, sitting in a way that she could look at both of their faces. "I had a dream about Klaus. He was standing in my room but it felt really real, like as if he was really there." Elena stopped for a breath and continued again, thinking deeply about Damon as she did. "When I told Damon, he suggested that we leave town. He was acting really paranoid about the whole situation. Something's going on and I want to know what it is."

Matt and Caroline didn't say anything and neither did Elena. They shared a brief moment of silence, exchanging glances with one another. Caroline was the first to speak up.

"We know that Katherine's working with Damon right? Then there's a possibility that Victoria knows something. They're like best buddy-sisters or something aren't they?"

Elena nodded and spoke, "Yeah but I don't think Victoria will tell us anything."

"It won't hurt to try, right?" said Matt, quietly. He'd been very quiet lately and he occasionally zoned out. Maybe that's what happens when you're ex girlfriend/best friend turns into a vampire and you have a near-death experience.

"Then let's go," exclaimed Caroline, getting off her stool and putting her jacket on. She looked at Matt, asking with her eyes if he was going to be joining them.

"I can't go. My shift isn't over yet but when you find out something call me okay?" He told them and they nodded before heading out the grill and to Victoria's apartment. They needed answers. They couldn't be kept in the dark, not for this long.

**Victoria's POV**

"That is absolute crap, Caitlyn!" Victoria yelled loudly, throwing her hands in the air before running them through her hair, pushing it back. Dean was sitting on the couch, looking down at the wooden floor with his hands locked together and Jeremy was right next to him, nearly in the same position.

After Dean explained what the witches or rather Ester's sister did to Victoria, she came straight home and demanded a proper explanation from Caitlyn.

"I'm sorry Victoria! I didn't mean to do this. I never thought you'd be put into a situation where you would have to face Klaus!" Caitlyn replied trying to keep control of her voice but it had been rising every time she spoke.

"Well now that you know, why did you agree to this?" asked Victoria, her voice quiet for the first time.

"Because no one but us can know about you being able to create hybrids as well. If anyone else knew, then you would be in more danger than ever," she paused, pressing her lips together. "I thought that if you went along with the plan and we killed Klaus, then everything would be okay!"

Victoria shook her head, her praying hands on her lips, breathing on them through a small gap. She just needed to think about this more clearly. She obviously couldn't back out of the plan. That just wasn't an option. She would be letting down Katherine and even if she had a proper excuse to use, it really didn't matter because she wanted to help too much. It didn't even matter whether she got hurt; she had to help the people in Mystic Falls. That was her first priority as a hunter.

"So now what?" asked Jeremy, speaking for the first time since they left the forest.

Caitlyn looked at him and then Victoria, who just shrugged and sighed, "We go through with the plan. We get Klaus."

Dean stood up to protest but Jeremy interrupted him. "You sure about this?"

"I'm damn sure about it. We're taking that son of a bitch down like any other vampire we've hunted. He's no different," murmured Victoria. Then she stormed off into her room. She needed time alone, time to not think, time to think, she wanted time but as a hunter, time wasn't always your best friend.

Victoria was a hunter. She had to make hard choices. She had to choose between who got to live and who needed to die. She couldn't always wait for the opportune moment; something's had to be done in the spur of the moment. She could plan and scheme and prepare as much as she wanted but when complications rose, she had to go with the flow and that's what she was doing. Going with the flow because this, her being a blood bag for Klaus, was a complication.

**Elena's POV**

The words were still ringing in her ears. She couldn't believe it, not at all. She genuinely thought that it was all over, that Klaus was dead but no, oh, she was very, very wrong on that fact. Klaus was still very much alive and still after them.

"Care?" She whispered, hoping that none of the people inside the apartment could hear them. "Did you catch all that?"

Caroline nodded, staring blankly at the door. Elena understood what this meant for Caroline. This meant that Tyler was still alive but it also raised a lot of questions. Like, how was Klaus alive? Where was Tyler? And the two of them needed answers, now.

Elena grabbed Caroline's hand and ran downstairs to the ground floor in vampire speed, stopping at the front entrance. "Come on, Caroline. We're going to Lucy," Elena told her, stepping out into the sunlight. She twisted the ring on her right hand ring finger. It was something she did every time she felt the sun's warm rays on her skin. She needed to know that it was still there, to remind her that she was a vampire and that without it, she could burn to death.

"Why Lucy?" Caroline asked, following Elena to the car, her voice a little shaky.

"We need a witch's help right now," said Elena, climbing into the passenger seat of Caroline's car. "Obviously Bonnie isn't going to help us so we need to go to the next person who _will _help us."

Caroline nodded, starting the engine. Elena took out her phone and pressed the letters on the keypad as fast as she could. With her new speed, texting was faster than she normally could, which was a blessing.

**To Damon:**

**We need to talk. Meet me at the high school. **

_That should stir him up a bit. _Elena thought, putting her phone away. She stared at the road and turned her eyes at Caroline once to see how she was doing. She looked stressed. Elena was a little worried that Caroline would lose it and drive carelessly but hopefully, Caroline wouldn't have a moment like that. This was harder on her than any of them. She thought for weeks that she lost Tyler, forever and to just bam, hear that Tyler could be alive, it was going to shake her up.

Elena tried to come up with theories as to how Klaus managed to survive the dagger. It was supposed to kill him then how? Maybe Alaric didn't do it right? She sighed, thinking, _did I die and turn into a vampire for nothing? _

The thought struck and stayed, unnecessarily, with her. Rebekah would never have killed her if she knew that Klaus was still alive. She would still be human. Alaric wouldn't be dead. She tried to think of the good things that came out of this. Like how she was with Damon. If she didn't die and get all her memories back, then she would probably still be with Stefan.

She couldn't think about all that now. First, she had to find out what actually happened that night, with Klaus. She needed to know where he is, what he wants. He wants Elena back, she knew that. That's why he was there in her room but she was no use to him now. She was a vampire, her blood wouldn't do anything to his hybrids. _Would he kill my family and everyone I knew just like what happened to Katherine? _She thought but shoved the thought so deep in the back of her mind that she would never have to think about it again.

They reached the school and Caroline ran out. Elena followed after. They knew for a fact that Lucy came in every Saturday afternoon to mark papers and assignments. She said that school felt like the right place to do that.

Lucy was right where they expected her to be. She was marking their history papers. She looked up at Caroline and Elena as they crossed the threshold.

"Miss Gilbert, Miss Forbes, what can I do for you?" said Lucy, formally.

"We want to know how Klaus is still alive," Caroline muttered, getting straight down to business.

Lucy sighed and sat back in her chair. She shook her head and put her pen down. "How did you find out?"

"How is he still alive?" Caroline asked, her voice raising every second Lucy didn't answer.

"Take seat girls and let me call Damon. He'll tell the story better than I," said Lucy, dialing Damon's number and exiting the room to talk to him. Elena and Caroline sat down. Elena sort of wanted Damon to be there. She wanted to hear the story from his side. He'd been lying to her all this time. She deserved an explanation.

**Damon's POV**

Elijah finally came down from upstairs, carrying a bag with him. Damon raised an eyebrow and looked suspiciously at the bag.

Rebekah told them about Klaus trying to turn Elena back to human, which Damon didn't see possible at all. Not even with all the witchy joo joo, there was no way to turn the dead back to human. Even Ester couldn't turn Vicky back to a human; she was only just given a stronger foothold. That wasn't the same thing.

"So Elijah, what secrets do you have yet to reveal to us lower vamps? I mean, you could just lay down all the secrets for us. It'll be a lot easier to deal with everything you know?" said Damon, irritated by the amount of secrets the Originals kept. It was one secret after the other and always, the one that followed after would just be bigger and it grew and grew.

Elijah looked up at Damon and gave him a bored and cold look before turning his eyes away to the bag. He opened it, taking out a small, probably ten paged cloth bound book. He very carefully turned the papers. They looked like they were made from papyrus. Just a very touch and it could crumble like pastry.

"What is that?" Damon asked, staring at it, trying to read the scribbles.

"Before Klaus, Rebekah and I fled from our village and back to the old world, we took some things with us. I found this, in my mother's things. It was a bit like a journal but it only had one story in it, I don't think it was my mother's," said Elijah, turning to a specific page.

Elijah read through it for a brief moment and put it down for Damon to read. Katherine showed up from behind and bent over Damon's shoulder, reading the words out loud.

"I never thought it was possible but I made it happen. Janine was a monster. I couldn't leave her like that. I had to change her." Katherine stopped and stepped away from the book.

Picking it, Damon plopped down on to the couch and read it. _'I used mountain ash, white oak ash and my blood. I had to spell it. It took nearly all my power, it was a challenging thing to do but I had to do it. She drank the mixture and fell unconscious but when she woke up, she was back to being a human.' _

"Is it real?" questioned Damon, re-reading the page over and over again, memorizing every word. He couldn't wrap his head around it. He just couldn't. The possibility, the slightest hope of being turned back into a human, that, yes that truly would be the greatest gift of all. It would be the greatest gift for any vampire.

"I don't know," Elijah spoke, glancing towards Katherine. He had one hand in his trouser pocket as he walked up to Damon, standing behind the couch. "I just assumed it was a story or a myth. We could never prove it right. The witches we used kept dying from losing too much power."

Katherine looked like all hope had shattered for her but she wasn't the only one. The feelings were mutual with Damon. He sighed and returned the book back to Elijah. "Then why is Klaus so confident that he can turn Elena back?"

"I don't know but Rebekah will find out."

"She better hurry because it's getting harder to lie to Elena," said Damon and suddenly, his phone croaked on the table. He shook himself and walked over to it, answering the unknown number. "Who is this?"

"Hello Damon. It's Lucy."

"What the hell do you want?" Damon asked, in an annoyed tone. He didn't need to deal with any witch drama, not when all his hopes had just been brought down.

"There is a blonde and a brunette in my classroom, demanding answers as to why Klaus is still alive."

_Elena…_He thought instantly. It was the first name that came to his mind. _Fuck. _

"I'm on my way," he told Lucy, hanging up and rushing out of the house. _Well then, I guess you don't have to lie anymore. _His subconscious told him in its bitchy little voice. This wasn't how Elena was ever supposed to find out. How was he ever going to explain it to her?

**Right then. There we go. I've got nothing to say expect that the story is almost coming to an end. I'm think of 22 – 24 chapters at the most? Review please? Thanks for sticking around. **


	18. Arguments, Betrayal and Capture

**Hi (: Enjoy the chapter.**

**Damon's POV**

Walking down the familiar halls of Mystic Falls High School, he found Elena, Caroline and Lucy in the history room. He felt a sense of déjà vu. He had walked into this classroom so many times, finding Elena sitting in one of the students seats, Stefan by the window and Alaric behind his table. The roles had been changed, except for Elena; Caroline in Stefan's place and Lucy in 'Ric's place. It was almost sad that their little gang had so many drastic and tragic changes.

Damon was only given a second to observe all this before Caroline's long, plum nails were digging into his neck, sticking him to the wall. Then she growled, "Where's Tyler?" There was so much anger in her voice. He had seen Caroline get angry before but this anger was different. It wasn't just anger, it was all these other emotions that were mixing with the anger and it made her voice sound different.

Elena gasped, standing up instantly and even Lucy stood on guard, although it was all very unnecessary because half a minute later, he turned the situation around.

Grasping Caroline's wrists, he pinned her to the floor and was atop of her, on his knees and she struggled, glaring at Damon. She could've shot out laser beams with that glare. "He's safe," he told her silently and got off her, releasing her wrists. He even offered to lift her up but she didn't take it.

Caroline walked away from Damon, returning to her spot at the window and she continued to glare at Damon. Elena sighed in relief, she didn't want to see the man she loved and her best friend beat the living daylights out of each other. Lucy had also become less tense and stepped a little behind, sighing as well.

"So Damon," spoke Elena, her voice cold. It was similar to Caroline's but he had heard this voice of Elena's. Caroline's was entirely different. "You want to start owning to the list of the lies you've told me in the past two weeks?"

Damon did have the answers that Elena was looking for but he wasn't entirely sure how to put the thoughts in his head into words. There was no point in lying now. He had to tell her the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.

"I was trying to protect you," he started but Elena cut in right after.

"That is the worst excuse you could possibly give me, Damon!" She yelled and Damon pulled his eyebrows together.

"What the hell was I supposed to tell you Elena?" He yelled back, tightness in his throat. "You turned into a vampire two weeks ago and I had to tell you that Klaus was still alive? How the hell was I supposed to explain that to you?"

Elena shook her head, as if she couldn't believe a single word coming out of his mouth. She gave him a tight, angry smile and said, "Exactly Damon! I'm a vampire. I can protect myself!"

Damon walked up to her and held her arms, pulling her close and spoke softly, pouring his eyes into her. "I was trying to save you from thinking about it, Elena," he paused and breathed on her face. "You've been so happy the past two weeks, _we've_ been so happy. I didn't want to take that happiness away."

He could see Elena trying to understand the reasons he was giving her but it clearly wasn't enough. She pushed his hands off. "And you thought lying was your only option?"

Turning around, Damon shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. He tried to come up with the smart thing to say. He wanted to say yes because that's what had occurred to him first. Lying to Elena was the best way to protect her. That had been the way he had always protected her but inside, he knew that he no longer needed to protect her as much as he did before. Now, she was a vampire and she had nearly the same strength and speed that he had.

"Damon," whispered Elena and he turned around to look at her face. "It's always taken everyone single one of us to take Klaus down. You couldn't have possibly thought you could have done this on your own right?"

"I wasn't doing this on my own. I had Katherine and Elijah," he replied back to her and that angered her a bit even more.

"Yes. Rebekah, Caitlyn, Lucy and Victoria too right? Your own little team of soldiers against Klaus. What about us?" She asked, almost offended that he didn't include Stefan, Caroline, Jeremy, Matt and Elena but it was what was needed to be done to keep everyone safe and happy.

"Fine then. You guys are involved now. Happy?" said Damon sarcastically and Elena looked away from him. Everything that came out of his mouth was making the situation even worse. He waited a moment before he spoke again. "Elena, I didn't want to hurt you. Last time we tried to take down Klaus with you involved, you died and turned into a vampire. This time, if anything happened, you wouldn't have come back and I can't lose you."

He played the big hand; guilt tripping her. It was unfair to her but it was what he needed to do.

When Elena didn't say anything and just looked down at the floor, he moved closer, smiling. "We could have taken him down and nobody would have gotten hurt," he said and there was cockiness in his voice, trying to show that he was calm. "With two kick-ass vampires, two _original_ vampires, two powerful witches and the best vampire hunter, Klaus didn't stand a frikkin' chance against us."

Elena finally looked up and there was worry in her eyes. The anger had partly been overshadowed by this new worry. "Victoria," she muttered and looked towards Lucy, who was confused by Elena saying Victoria's name in the way that she had.

"She can't be involved in this," Caroline murmured, catching onto what Elena thought. Elena looked at Caroline, her eyebrows pulled together and biting her lip softly.

"Why not?" Lucy asked, stepping away from her table.

Caroline and Elena exchanged worried glances, both agreeing to tell Damon and Lucy what was going on and who should say it.

"Because her blood can create hybrids," said Elena. Damon's mouth hung and he would've spoken but Blondie interrupted.

"And Klaus can never find her or else his power will never end."

Right after Caroline had spoken, there was dead silence in the room and Damon knew that their plans were going need _big_ adjustments.

**Klaus's POV**

***Nearly an hour before the scene above***

Rebekah knocked on the door with her index finger and stepped away from it, standing tall next to Klaus.

"I'm coming!" shouted a heavily accented voice from inside, which wouldn't have been audible to human ears. Klaus smirked upon hearing this voice and fought the urge to shout something back, trying to leave it as a surprise so he could see his most young and favorite witch's expression when she sees him.

The door squeaked open and the witch, who was standing on the other side of the grey threshold, stared for over a minute before smirking at Klaus. "My oh my, what have I done to deserve the pleasure of having Niklaus Mikaelson at my home?"

"Tessie," he greeted her and she blushed profoundly. "Do you need a reason?"

"After four and half years, maybe I do need a reason darling," said Tessie in a serious manner but she smirked not too long later. Klaus noticed that Tessie hadn't even acknowledged that Rebekah was standing right next to him. "Well now, come on in."

Rebekah sighed, calmed that Tessie hadn't left them standing there all day. Rebekah entered first, not so much as looking at Tessie and Klaus followed behind her. Tessie took his arm and walked beside him, giving him a tour of her bungalow.

"So, upstairs, there are a few guest rooms that you both are welcome to stay in for as long as you like!" exclaimed Tessie, clearly excited that Klaus had come to visit her but he wouldn't be staying for long, like usual. He would use her magic and once he got what he wanted, he would leave.

Klaus hated to admit it, Tessie was his favorite witch and that was why she couldn't be used as often. Her magic was special, it was darker than other witches and that sort of magic could only be used on special occasions, such as this one.

"We won't be staying for long," muttered Rebekah, entering the living room and settling down on the couch, which irritated Tessie but she stifled it because she knew that it would upset Klaus if she did anything to his sister.

"And why not? Y'all haven't seen me in half a decade!" Tessie complained, letting go of Klaus's arm and looking at him with her puppy dog eyes. "What brings you knockin' on my door anyway?"

He most definitely liked that Tessie didn't complain for too long and got to business. "I need you to find the spell that turns a vampire back to a human," he told her, sitting down next to Rebekah, smiling at both her and Tessie.

"That sounds incredibly easy Klaus," replied Tessie sarcastically. "Y'all owe me. Big time."

Tessie turned on her toes and went into another room to get the items that she needed for the spell while Klaus and Rebekah waited patiently for a few minutes. Tessie came in and out of several rooms in the bungalow, bringing all sorts of things. She had four candles, matches, and a bowl of water, soil in a bottle, a knife and some chalk. She placed the things on the wooden table.

She took the candles and placed three of them in three corners of the house. Then she took the fourth candle, lit it up and put it on one side of the table. She drew a triangle next to it. She sprinkled some of the soil onto another side of the table and drew an upside down triangle with a line going through it at the top. She made a puddle of water parallel to the candle, drawing an upside down triangle. Then parallel to the soil, she drew a triangle (right side up) with a line going through the top of it.

"The four elements," said Rebekah, observing the items on the table. Tessie nodded and began to chant a spell. The Latin words she spoke translated into, "fire" (the flame lights up brighter), "water" (the puddle lifts up into a straight line), "earth" (the soil comes together, forming a small rock) and "air" (a gust of wind blows around the symbol, creating a small tornado on top of the table) "Give me the power to seek the truth."

Tessie takes Klaus's hand and cuts it with the knife, squeezing some of his blood onto the center of the square she created. The cut heals quickly and she continues with the spell. As she chants the spell, the elements come together around his blood and it begins to move, forming letters.

In only a few moments, a word had formed. It was a name. '_Victoria.' _Klaus questioned inwardly. _Who is she and how does she help my situation? _

"Who is she?" Klaus asks and Tessie shrugs. She puts her palm above the blood and it evaporates onto her palm. She closes it into a fist, closing her eyes; Klaus had no idea what was going on in her mind but he was damn curious.

Tessie gasped, opening her eyes wide and she stared at Klaus. Her eyes didn't avert from his face, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Klaus," she finally whispered and Klaus raised an eyebrow. "You don't need that spell. Victoria is your new blood bag."

With those words, Rebekah stands up and excuses herself from the pair, saying she needs to make a call. Klaus didn't really care, being more intrigued by this Victoria.

Tessie opens her fist and crosses her legs, sitting on the floor, looking at Klaus like a puppy. She explained to him the brief story of Victoria Hemingway. Klaus was very pleased to hear this news and sets his mind to find Victoria, asking Tessie to do a locator spell.

"Your sister is acting a bit odd," stated Tessie blandly. She didn't do the locator spell as Klaus had asked but initiated a conversation that Klaus had no interest in having. "Something is very off about her."

"She's Rebekah. She's always off about something," replied Klaus, having seen this entire drama one too many times.

Unable to accept that as the truth, Tessie begins to do another spell, using the candle. She closes her eyes, chants a few Latin words and when she opens her eyes again, she begins to grin.

"What did you do?" asked Klaus, sitting in a protective manner.

"Tell me darling, how'd your doppelganger turn?"

"I don't know. The Salvatores must have done it," said Klaus, not really caring because Elena was no longer his concern.

Tessie grinned even more, standing up and sitting next to Klaus. Her left hand was on his thigh and her hand plays with is short, golden brown hair. She moved her hands all over his body and he didn't deny the playful touches. She moved in close to his ear and suddenly whispered, "Your precious Rebekah did it." And then she transferred all the memories she had seen using her spell to Klaus. The memory of driving Matt and Elena off the bridge, to the memories of Rebekah making alliances with the Salvatores.

_TRAITOR. _He screamed in his head and shot up from his seat.

"Now wait Klaus. Play this smart," Tessie advised him and he listened. "Take her down with a threat."

Just as Klaus was going to leave to find Rebekah, she returned with her phone in her hand. She went quite far away to make that phone call.

"Your blood bag is in Mystic Falls," said Tessie and she crossed her legs again on the couch, looking at the two original vampire siblings.

"Great. Let's go get her," Rebekah continued her façade but Klaus couldn't take it.

He took out one of his daggers for Originals and stabbed her in the stomach. "I will take that bus boy and I will torture him, let his fears eat him and I'll kill that disgusting human being and feed him to the sharks." Rebekah survived long enough to hear his whole threat and let a small tear drop fall from her eye.

Then he dropped her body to the ground and in that moment, he honestly couldn't give a fuck if she was his sister or not. She was trying to kill him, all for a human. He didn't need traitors like that in his life.

"Thank you, Tessie. I'll send someone to retrieve the body soon. Goodbye," muttered Klaus silently and he ran out of the bungalow, vengefully wanting to get to Mystic Falls as soon as possible.

**Bonnie's POV**

Bonnie opened her eyes very slowly, blinking several times before getting a clear image of where she was. She lifted her head up and looked around, realizing she was at the abandoned home where the witches were murdered.

_What am I doing here? What is this? _She asked herself quickly and walked around, going to the room where the coffins were once placed in. She stopped at where she was when she saw a black haired woman standing at the end of the room, facing the wall. Her first thought was to run but her legs wouldn't move.

"Bonnie Bennett," said the woman and Bonnie stared at her, wondering how the woman knew her name. "It's lovely to meet you." The woman had a bit of a Scottish accent, Bonnie noticed.

"Who are you?" Bonnie asked. She had been through enough of supernatural drama to know that when witches (Bonnie was sure that this woman was a witch) showed up in dreams, you could never tell if they were good or bad.

"My name is Rosalinda and I am Ester's niece." When Bonnie heard Ester's name, she panicked and she wanted to move but Rosalinda must have put a spell on her or something because she couldn't move her legs at all. "Please, don't be worried. I dislike her just as much as you. I just need your help."

"I don't want to help you," snapped Bonnie, angered that these witches just wouldn't leave her alone. They always wanted to use her.

"The favor that I am about to ask you has something in it for you too, Bonnie Bennett." Rosalinda tried to bargain with Bonnie but she wasn't buying into it. She didn't want to. She was serious when she said that she was taking control of the things that happened in her life. The things that she did. "Klaus no longer needs Elena. Bad things will happen to her if you're not by her side, Bonnie. Every witch is given someone, human, vampire or werewolf, to protect with their lives. It is in their destinies. For Emily, it was Katherine. For my mother, it was me. For Ester, it was Henrik, for Sheila, it was you and you, Bonnie Bennett, it is Elena Gilbert."

_Every witch is given someone to protect with their lives. _Bonnie repeated the words in her head like a broken record. _You, Bonnie Bennett, it is Elena Gilbert. _

"Protect your best friend, Bonnie Bennett," whispered Rosalinda and suddenly, Bonnie woke up, in her room with her head on the grimoires that she had open.

Bonnie thought about the dream that she had. Was it true what Rosalinda had said? Or was it just another way for the witches to use her for their own good? She didn't know but the witches were playing a bigger hand then she could compromise with. Elena was her best friend and it was true, she would protect Elena with her life. That's why she was trying to find a spell to turn Elena back to a human. But what if it's all a lie? What if it's a trap? Could she really consider all that over her best friend?

**Ester's POV**

"Klaus is going to Mystic Falls to get Victoria," said Ester in her soft, English accented voice. Abby nodded at the words and stood up from the chair.

They were still at the old witch house. Abby was a very lovely accomplice. She never questioned anything and she did anything she was told to do. Ester quite liked her.

"I would like Bonnie to join us, find her and I'll call you to give you further instructions," murmured Ester, waving a sage around the room.

Abby began walking to the door but Ester stopped her. "Here," whispered Ester, walking to Abby, taking her hand and then transferring some of her own magic to Abby. It was a very risky but yet necessary thing to do.

Even though Abby was a vampire, Ayanna had made it possible for Ester to give some of the magic to Abby for her to use. Abby wouldn't be able to do advanced spells like bringing someone back to life but she would be able to create fires and such things. It wasn't much but it was enough.

Once Abby left, Ester knew that her plan to get rid of Klaus was finally going to work, once and for all.

**Victoria's POV**

Lucy had called an hour ago, telling Victoria to go to the Salvatore boarding house at 6. Victoria admired the sunset as she drove to the boarding house. The orange and pink mixed together in the sky; the edges of the clouds slightly violet and the sun finishing its turn for the day to only start its next job on the other side of the world.

Caitlyn was sitting next to her, staring out the window, thinking and Dean and Jeremy were in the backseat, not uttering a word, curious as to why Victoria was called to the boarding house.

Once they reached the house and when they entered through the door, she found that everyone had gathered there and when she said everyone, she really meant _everyone._

Caroline and Matt were sitting on the couch and Stefan was standing next to it, near Caroline. Damon, Lucy and Elena were by the tumblers and the various bottles of alcohol. Katherine was in the center of the parlor, who until Victoria had walked in was staring away. Only Elijah was missing but he was most likely somewhere near or in the house. This was obviously something serious.

"What's this about?" asked Caitlyn, appearing next to Victoria. Jeremy also stood by her side and Dean was next to him. Everyone had been divided into these little groups and it only made Victoria more worried and curious as to what in the world was going on.

Elena was the first to open her mouth to speak but she didn't when Katherine came to Victoria, standing only a few inches from her and began to scream, gesticulating. "What the hell is wrong with you? Did you really think I was going let you go through with this? Especially after the little secret you've been keeping. Victoria Hemingway, you're a stubborn bitch and you can get away with anything else but this!"

_They knew, _was Victoria's first thought but she didn't say anything because she wasn't given the chance to. Lucy had followed right after into scolding Victoria just like Katherine.

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me, Tori. We're a family!" Lucy's voice was loud but she hadn't screamed like Katherine.

Victoria thought she had a chance of speaking but Elena had taken her chance to say what she wanted to say first. "We're going to find another way to kill Klaus. You will not die for this. Not you."

She felt a little guilty for not telling them about the Klaus thing but it really didn't matter now. They weren't even giving her a chance to explain herself. Instead, they kept arguing about it and scolding her.

"She's the only one who can do this!" shouted Jeremy at Katherine, which made things a lot worse because Katherine gave him the death stare.

"He's right, Katherine. There's nobody else. She's the strongest, she can survive this," Caitlyn jumped in and Victoria still hadn't said anything. She turned her eyes towards Stefan who also joined the argument.

"If Klaus finds Victoria, then his power will never end."

"He won't find her!" Jeremy countered and Elena came up to him, trying to convince him to stop defending the plan.

"Look Jer, you don't get it. Victoria needs to stay hidden and protected."

In the brief moment the argument stopped, Elijah appeared from the kitchen and he worriedly stated, "Rebekah's not answering her phone."

This increased the tension and worry among the group of people in the room. Victoria could felt the atmosphere shifting, getting heavier. She was finally given the chance to speak. "Katherine," she started and that was the only thing she was allowed to stay.

Katherine moved in closer and whispered into Victoria's ear. "Can I have a word with you?"

Victoria was shocked when she heard Kat say this. 'Can I have a word with you?' was the code phrase that they both had come up with in a situation when they needed to run away. _How could Kat even suggest this! _Thought Victoria, more furious than frustrated.

"No way in hell, Katherine!" yelled Caitlyn immediately afterward. She heard what Katherine had said and Caitlyn knew very well what that phrase meant. "You're not taking her anywhere!"

Another argument began with Elena, Damon, Caitlyn and Katherine bickering about Katherine suggesting for them to run away and abandon the rest of the group. Victoria had had enough of all these people screaming and shouting her face, talking about her and making choices for her, for the love of all that is holy, she was not five years old.

"I'm going through with the fucking plan!" Victoria shouted at the top of her lungs, louder than anyone else in the room and it silenced them all.

All twenty four eyes in the room were on her. She felt uncomfortable having all that attention towards her but she also liked that she got that attention because for the past several minutes, no one had even cared that she was there.

"We will bring him down. I'll die and you can use that to kill him and I will come back. The plan will work." Victoria tried to convince herself of it but she believed in a part of her that she was going to die. It was a scary thought and she tried not to think of it, continuously telling herself that the plan would work but did she really have that guarantee.

"No," said Katherine, Lucy and Elena in unison.

That was where Victoria drew the line. She was not going to be controlled by anyone and it didn't matter who it was, she was not going to be controlled. "It's my choice okay and what I do with my life is my problem. So screw you all!" Victoria's voice sounded so very different. She didn't sound like herself. She guessed it was because she had never been put in a position like this. Nearly everything in Mystic Falls was so new to her.

Then without another word, Victoria stormed out of the boarding house, got into her car and drove off. She drove over the speed limit, not caring if she got pulled over.

The tears streamed down her face and she didn't know what to do or say. She didn't know where she was going to go but she needed to leave town for just a little while. She would come back, for the sake of Caitlyn and Lucy. She needed to come back.

Victoria was surprised when Dean hadn't shown up yet. Silently, she cried. There were no noises, just tears that rolled down her cheeks and they burned her skin. She hated crying but she had so many emotions in her; anger, sadness, love, hate, frustrations, confusion and so much more and she couldn't cooperate with all of them. It was too much.

A gasp escaped from her light pink lips and everything happened too quickly for her to contemplate on them. Her eyes were blurry and she could barely even see anything. The only thing she could make out, even a little was two jeans and combat boot wearing legs that walked towards her. She was upside down. The car had crashed. _What? _

Her head hurt too much for her to think about it and in a few seconds, it all went black.

**Caroline's POV**

Calmly, Stefan and Caroline walked into Mystic Grill, in search of Victoria.

Victoria went missing over forty five minutes ago and they still hadn't found her. Right after Victoria stormed out, Caitlyn and Lucy had followed after her and their first instinct was to go to the apartment but when they didn't find her there, they called and everyone was now on a search party for her.

Although Caroline really didn't want to be around Stefan at the moment, everyone had to go with a partner. Except for Jeremy, Damon and Elena, who had stayed back at the boarding house in case Victoria came back and for Jeremy to try and talk to Victoria's ghost boyfriend, Dean.

Being around Stefan felt weird and wrong, especially now that Caroline knew that Tyler was still alive. Even though she liked this connection with Stefan, she wasn't sure if it was the sort that she thought it was at first. She still loved Tyler, a lot and she never wanted to stop loving him. She wanted to find him and be with him, not Stefan.

"I'll go check the restrooms," said Stefan, breaking her away from her thoughts and he left without her having to say anything.

Caroline didn't care about finding Victoria. Sure she wanted to take Klaus down, especially for taking Tyler away from her but she wanted to see Tyler more than anything. She didn't care even if they didn't take Klaus down but she just wanted to see Tyler, touch him, hear his voice…just be with him.

While lost in her memories with Tyler, Stefan returned and said something that she didn't even hear.

"Caroline?" Stefan called out, taking her hand in his cold one and she felt repulsed by the touch, pulling her hand away instantaneously. He was quite surprised by the reflex and stared at her face with his usual, broody look. "I'm sorry."

Caroline felt a little guilty and mumbled, "No, I'm sorry." She bit her lip hard and then sat down on the chair nearest to her. Stefan sat down too but he kept his distance from Caroline. They were quite for a lengthy time and in that time, Caroline decided on exactly what she had to say to Stefan. She made her speech and began it, without hesitation.

"I still love Tyler, Stefan," she began and it was a poor start but she had an explanation/argument/justification that would back her up. "It felt like we had a connection maybe because I thought I lost Tyler and you and Elena broke up. We were trying to comfort each other and we thought there was something more but really, is there?" She questioned, trying to make this more about him and not her so that she wouldn't have to feel all the guilt.

Stefan just shrugged and kept smiling but Caroline could see the sadness in his eyes. She took both his hands in his and continued to talk. "You're one of my closest friends, Stefan and I can't imagine you not being in my life. We need each other."

"We're friends then," said Stefan, standing up, still smiling. Caroline couldn't stop feeling guilty but she knew that this was for the best. She embraced Stefan in the friendliest way possible and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go find Victoria."

Then they left the grill. Caroline was happy that they ended on a good note and now her main priority was finding Tyler.

**Elena's POV**

Damon was sitting on his comfortable chair, going through some books, drinking scotch silently. He didn't speak a word to Elena ever since the whole gang had parted. Jeremy went upstairs to use the bathroom and hadn't come down yet.

Suddenly, Damon's phone rang and he answered, still without even looking at Elena. Damon didn't say anything for a while and then finally hang up with, "I'm on my way."

He stood up and began to make his way to the door before Elena made a snide remark. "Where are you going? Or is too dangerous for me to know?"

Damon turned around and smiled angrily, answering her question. "Katherine and Elijah found Victoria's car right outside of town. Completely totaled. We're leaving town to find her."

"I'm going with you," said Elena, standing up but Damon appeared in front of her and shook his head.

"No you're not."

"And why not Damon?" hissed Elena. This was starting to get a bit old. They all had to just accept the fact that she wasn't who she was before. She was stronger and this was her choice. Her life. She knew what she had to do with and in it.

"It's not safe, Elena. Please." Damon begged and it was strange. He never begged for anything. She wanted to agree to the pleading voice but the stubbornness that she shared with Victoria was much stronger. Maybe they got that trait from Isobel.

"I'm not a human anymore, Damon! I don't need to be protected," Elena shouted, pleading in her voice as well.

"If I told you what was going on, you wouldn't have had those few days of happiness," muttered Damon, clenching his jaw.

Elena didn't like this excuse. It was stupid and it wasn't fair. She would have had even happier days and so would have Damon if Klaus was really dead. "I didn't need to be molly coddled," she hissed and that ticked Damon off.

He turned around and began walking. He didn't even say anything else, leaving the argument unfinished and empty. If only he would talk to her about it. If only he would tell her and keep her in the know.

She sat back down, twisting her hair, pushing it back, and hiding her face, perturbed. She couldn't stand this. She didn't want to argue with Damon. She loved him, with all her heart, she truly, irrevocably and passionately loved him. She knew very clearly that arguing wouldn't solve anything. Sticking together was what had gotten them this far and she couldn't lose him like that. As much as he was afraid of her getting hurt, she was afraid of him getting hurt as well.

"Hey," murmured Jeremy, sitting down next to Elena. She gave him a weak smile and looked down at the carpet. "Where's Damon?"

"Gone," answered Elena, her voice lacking energy.

"What happened?" He asked and she was a bit surprised when he actually took an interest. She knew that he didn't really like her involvement with the Salvatores but she grasped the moment and vented out all the feelings she was feeling and explained to Jeremy what happened with Damon in full detail.

When Elena was done, Jeremy sighed and nodded understandingly. "I'm no expert when it comes to relationships." He cringed when he even mentioned it, thinking about all his past relationships. "But I do know that you need to talk to him, calmly and you both need to apologize to each other. Him for lying and you for not giving him a proper chance to explain it all and actually understanding it all."

Jeremy put his hand on Elena's knee and smiled. The smile reminded her of what Damon told her. _'You wouldn't have had those few days of happiness'. _As much as she wanted to, she couldn't deny it. Everyone was incredibly happy, thinking that Klaus was dead. Jeremy smiled more and hung out with people his own age and Elena truly was happy in those days. Everyone was.

"I'm going to call him," Elena sighed, nodding. She took out her cell quickly, dialed his number and listened to the ringing tone. _Pick up, pick up, pick up._ She repeated and bit her lip and unbit it and walked around.

Elena heard Damon say hello but she also heard something else. She spun around, dropping the phone when she saw Jeremy on the floor and someone else. Someone she was dreading to see.

"Damon!" Elena screamed and the dreadful person, the one and only Klaus, snapped her neck like a twig and everything went black.

**Omg. This is such a long chapter and compared to the amount of time that I actually wrote this chapter, I'm quite proud of it. Review and leave your ideas of what you think is going to happen next ;) **

**And btw, Klaus took a plane from Texas to Virginia (which is approximately 2 hours 24 minutes) so that's why he got there so quickly. In case you all were wondering. **


	19. Don't Blame Yourself

**Thank you for the reviews (: And this chapter contains a bit of violence in the beginning. I'm trying to find a way to end it smoothly but still with something for the readers to think about. Anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Enjoy (:**

**Elena's POV**

Her pupils opened wide, gathering up tiny particles of light. Her vision still blurry, she made out the slender, sitting figure with dark hair in front of her, whispering or maybe even screaming something to her but her senses were coming very slowly to her. Then almost in a rush, everything flowed back into her and as she tried to gasp, her mouth felt venomous.

The corners of her mouth, all around to her earlobe and the back of her neck burned viciously and she wanted to scream but every breath she took was vile and poisonous. She could feel her lungs filling with uneasiness. Her throat was contracted; the dryness in her mouth laced with a stinging taste and the incapability to breath was very painfully trying to kill her. Her open mouth was wrapped with a cloth, most likely glazed with vervain.

She decided to move but when her wrists twitched even slightly, she could feel the blood oozing out, as if they were being cut by razor blades. She glanced down, seeing that her wrists were chained so tightly that the metal would cut her if she moved. Her flat stomach was wrapped around the chair with metal chains.

"Elena?" A whisper called her name and she looked up at the familiar but tortured face. "I'm so sorry, Elena." Victoria was in tears.

Victoria looked like she was in a lot less pain than Elena but she was no where near comfort being tied to a chair with rope. As a hunter, Victoria didn't like not having the upper hand and losing control of any situation, feeling even remotely weak was not something that she was used to feeling.

"Ah, I see both my lovelies are awake now," claimed a voice that Elena dreaded. Her heart raced and she tried not to look at the well featured, golden haired man. She couldn't look at him. Until now, she never realized how much she really feared this man.

"Elena, love, don't look away from me," insisted Klaus in his most polite voice. Elena couldn't look up, she didn't want to. As much as she feared him, she also despised him. She despised his voice, his face, his touch…everything. He was the reason why many who she loved died.

When Elena didn't look up at Klaus, he brought out his well hidden anger. "Look at me!" He yelled, pulling her chin up with his tight grasp.

"Don't touch her!" Victoria shouted, her voice shaking.

Although Elena didn't know Victoria so well, she was sure that Victoria wasn't the type of person who let herself look so weak or bring her walls down and seeing Victoria in the condition she was in, it sort of broke Elena's heart.

Klaus didn't so much as even blink when Victoria shouted. Instead, he took out a small twig from his pocket and with the strangest, menacing look in his eyes, he stabbed Elena's palm with it.

Elena attempted to scream. She couldn't. The cloth around her mouth only burned her insides even more. The pain from both breathing and her throbbing hand made tears stream down her sweating face. It was the only way she could express her pain. The twig had gone very deep into her skin, probably touching her bone and the blood filled her palm. She felt disgusted seeing it and she cried more. Her banshee sobbing and her writhing body ached with so much pain.

"Stop it. Please!" cried Victoria softly.

Klaus removed his hand from the twig, leaving it throbbing in Elena's palm and turned to Victoria. "Don't cry love," he said, wiping away the tears from Victoria's eyes. Victoria looked sickened by the touch. "This is all for your benefit – "He paused. "And mine, of course."

"How does any of this benefit me?" She asked strongly.

"See my dear Victoria, once the vervain is out of both your systems, you'll both be very useful to me." When Klaus spoke, it sent cold chills down Elena's spine. She never thought she could be afraid of anything or anyone this much. "You, Victoria, will go on to live a happy life with a fine man, bear lots of children and be my blood bag, with full cooperation." Then he turned to Elena, looking at her with cold and hate filled eyes. "You Elena, will pay completely for turning. Whether it was your fault or not, if Victoria didn't exist, with you turning, my power would have ended."

Klaus probably didn't even realize how close his face now was to Elena's and that made the fear run through her veins in lightning speed. She had seen Klaus in many forms; sadness, power-hungry, angry, family-lover and even love but this side…it was the worst form of him. Seventeen year old Elena managed to bring out a side of Klaus that not even Mikael had been close to touching.

"Your plan will never work. They will come and kill you!" Victoria screamed and before she could speak anymore, Klaus knocked her out cold. He turned back to Elena, being more interested in her than anyone else.

He slowly removed the cloth, not being affected by the vervain and threw it to the ground. Elena was relieved to be able to breathe but it still hurt her lungs, like they were permanently damaged but she knew that they would heal fast. Or at least she thought before Klaus brought out his next punishment for her.

Klaus brought out a bowl of water, a towel and one of his hybrids. "I really do mean it when I say I will hurt you to a point where you will beg for me to kill you."

"Never," muttered Elena and then Klaus tipped Elena's chair back a bit, put the towel over her face, the hybrid held it tightly over her face and he poured the cold water on it.

Her face went entirely numb and it burned, more than fire could have, it burned. She shook herself in her chair but it only hurt more since the towel was rough. The water flowed from her face to her neck and in her shirt. Although it didn't hurt as much as it did on her face and the vervain cloth, it still hurt. She couldn't breathe. The feeling of not being able to breathe was the worst.

Breathing was the most natural thing and not being able to do it was awful. Every fiber of her being ached, screaming soreness. She knew there would be a point she would give into Klaus but not now, not so soon.

Several minutes passed and Klaus continued to do this, taking two minute intervals, allowing Elena to catch short breaths but he tortured her further by doing this over and over again until she was also knocked out, thinking only of Damon coming to rescue her.

**Damon's POV**

Pushing the door open, he ran inside the boarding house, finding Barbie and Stefan standing while Jeremy was sitting on the couch with an ice pack pressed against the back of his head.

Out of control, Damon grabbed Jeremy's neck and threw him up against the wall and screamed in his face, "Where the hell is Elena?"

Stefan pushed Damon away from Jeremy, which pissed him off even more. In the moment, all he wanted to do was snap Jeremy's little neck. Caroline ran over to help Jeremy who was now crying 'sorry' to everyone.

"Hurting Jeremy will not give you answers, Damon," muttered Stefan. He was just as worried as Damon was. Of course he was, at one point, he really did love Elena and even now, in a different way, he still loved her.

Damon didn't say anything because he knew that Stefan was right. Jeremy really couldn't have done anything. Klaus would have taken Elena even if Damon was the one guarding her.

"Klaus took Victoria too, didn't he?" cried Katherine's voice from behind him. They all saw how distressed she looked. That was strange. Katherine was always so cold-hearted and now, there was love and worry on her face. It was very unusual, especially for the Salvatore brothers.

There was silence in the room. Nobody could say anything. Klaus was suddenly thirty steps ahead of them. They didn't know where Victoria or Elena were. They didn't know how they were going to get rid of Klaus. Their best chance of even finding Victoria and Elena were with the help of Lucy and Caitlyn, who still hadn't shown up at the boarding house.

Elijah was the first one who broke the silence and soon everyone followed after what he said: "Rebekah's phone is switched off now."

"Obviously she's either dead or daggered," said Katherine, her voice lacking positivity and there was clear worry in it, straining her normal confidence. Elijah put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off, walking towards the Salvatore brothers. "Caitlyn and Lucy should be here in a while. They will do a locator spell to find Victoria."

"And Elena," added Caroline, stepping away from Jeremy, who was sitting on the couch again with the ice pack on the back of his neck.

"How are we going to get rid of Klaus?" asked Stefan, gathering around with the others to discuss a new plan.

"We still have two witches, four vampires and one original vampire on our side. There is no way he can beat us," murmured Elijah, standing beside Katherine with his hands in his pockets.

"Not if he has his hybrid army with him," Damon muttered. He didn't feel the whole 'teamwork' feel. He just wanted to get Elena. It was his fault that she was in the place she was in. If he hadn't left, if he hadn't argued with her…if he hadn't lied. _God damn it. _Elena was going to die because of him. This was his entire fault. _I'm sorry Elena. _

Stefan looked towards him and immediately understood from the tortured look on Damon's face that he was blaming himself for this happening to Elena. Stefan would have said something to Damon, tried to comfort him or something but right now was not the time. They first needed to come up with a plan.

"Best thing is if me, Caroline, Katherine and Caitlyn try to take down the hybrids. Then Elijah, Damon and Lucy can somehow kill Klaus," suggested Stefan, raising an eyebrow, hoping that everyone would agree to the plan.

"Fine but how _exactly _are we going to kill Klaus without killing all of us along with him?" asked Caroline, not really helping in trying to comfort Damon but being realistic.

"We can figure that out when the witches get here," drawled Elijah and everyone nodded, except Damon.

"We don't have time for them to get here!" Damon shouted.

Stefan went over, putting both his hands on Damon's shoulder and saying, "We'll get her, Damon." But Damon wasn't hearing it. Instead, he punched Stefan in the face.

"You should have saved her, brother," muttered Damon, bringing out a completely different subject than the one at hand. He was now speaking with his anger and frustration.

"Stop, Damon." Stefan tried but it was no use. Damon threw another punch and Stefan responded by throwing Damon half way across the room and slammed him into the bookshelf. Caroline gasped, sending Jeremy upstairs but didn't really do anything to stop the fight. Damon heard Katherine tell Elijah, "Let them vent their anger out."

"You shouldn't have let 'Ric kill Klaus in the first place!" Stefan retorted angrily. Damon took one of the broken pieces of wood from the bookshelf and stabbed Stefan in the stomach.

The blood dripped from Stefan's stomach when he removed the piece of wood slowly. He threw it back at Damon but Damon caught it with his hand. Dropping the piece of wood onto the ground, he walked over to Stefan and grabbed his shirt collar. Stefan did the same to Damon and they continued their fight verbally.

"You shouldn't have let Bonnie go to the storage unit and mess all this up," hissed Damon.

"You should've stopped Bonnie when she went and gave Alaric her blood," growled Stefan.

"You shouldn't have left town, brother."

"You should never have come back."

That was when their argument stopped. Stefan said the one thing that he knew he shouldn't have said. He turned everything onto Damon, knowing that it wasn't Damon's fault. His whole plan of trying to get rid of Damon's guilt backfired onto him.

The atmosphere grew tense, awkward and no matter how little the movements anyone made, the silence just kept growing and growing until there was a knock on the front door.

Releasing Stefan's collar, Damon walked away, frowning. Nobody could even say anything to him. Caroline threw Stefan at look, following Damon to the door.

When he opened it, he was genuinely surprised by the person standing on the other side.

It was Bonnie.

"I'm here to help," whispered Bonnie and Damon looked at her betrayed eyes for a moment, nodding in agreement, willing to do anything to get Elena back.

**Jeremy's POV**

He encircled the hole in the bed that Victoria made on the first day that she came into town. He remembered the aggravation in her when she made it, the power in her. She was a mighty strong girl.

Jeremy sighed and looked away from the circle, closing his eyes. _It's my fault, _he thought. Elena was gone because of him. He should have protected her. That's what he promised Ric that he would do, Aunt Jenna, Uncle John…his parents. Everyone around him was dying and leaving him. He was alone now. He turned Elena because he didn't want to lose anyone else in his life but because of him and only him, he lost Elena too.

"Jeremy." A velvet voice said his name quietly and he looked back at the circle, seeing none other than Dean standing on the other side of the bed. There were tears in his eyes that he was trying to hold back from falling. He looked so weak and fragile and even though Jeremy didn't know Dean well, he didn't seem like the weak and fragile person.

"You need to help me find Tori. Please, Jeremy," whispered Dean. Jeremy noticed his hands were balled up into fists.

"I will, Dean. Can you get to her? Try to use your connection to her and tell me where she is. Klaus can't see you," answered Jeremy, wanting to help Dean for both their benefits. Dean nodded and disappeared.

Jeremy decided to go back downstairs, assuming that Damon and Stefan's fight was over now. When he got downstairs, he didn't expect to see Bonnie sitting by the coffee table, doing a locator spell.

He looked over at Caroline, who gave him the 'it's a long story' look.

He drew his attention back to Bonnie, who was silently chanting some witchy words, her hand over a map. She let some candle wax drip down onto the map and continued chanting some words and unexpectedly, the whole map lit up in flames.

Bonnie crawled away and it was Katherine who threw water at it.

"There is a darker magic that's blocking mine," said Bonnie, upset. She looked up at Jeremy, frowning. He was about to go over to her but Caitlyn suddenly stormed into the living room.

"You bitch!" screamed Caitlyn, glaring at Katherine.

Katherine whimpered; her fingers on her temples and she fell to her knees. Caitlyn was giving her the witch headaches that Bonnie had been giving Elena in the past couple weeks.

"You're the reason why Victoria is gone. Klaus is never going to let her go! This is your fault!" Caitlyn kept screaming and torturing Katherine with her powers. The lower part of Katherine's jeans even lit up into flames.

"Caitlyn!" A voice shouted, breaking away Caitlyn's concentration and when she turned, Lucy put her hand on Caitlyn's forehead and Caitlyn fell unconscious. "Kat?" acquired Lucy and Katherine nodded, sitting up on the floor. Elijah came and helped her up.

Wordlessly, Lucy put Caitlyn onto the couch and took out a smaller map, placing it on the table. She sat down on the ground and Bonnie came over, sitting beside her. They did the spell again, several times, trying to get it to work.

All the while, Jeremy hoped that Dean would find Victoria's location before something bad happened.

**Victoria's POV**

There was a heavy, flowery aroma in the room. It irritated her nose, causing her to twitch it and slowly open her heavy lids. She was drained of energy, completely tired.

Finally able to see, she had to contain herself from crying. _Dean. _She thought, unable to even say his name without Klaus suspecting anything.

Dean looked like a terrible mess, like he had been crying. "Victoria," he whispered, sitting next to her. He kissed her fingers and a small tear drop fell onto it. He wiped it away immediately, afraid of Klaus seeing it. Even though he wouldn't notice it.

"You're going to be fine babe." Dean tried to smile with hope in his eyes and Victoria could see that he did believe, even if it was only a little. It gave her hope as well.

This was torture for Dean. Not being able to do anything while he could do something. There was no way he would be able to get both Victoria and Elena out of wherever they were and go unnoticed by Klaus but just the fact that he was there, wherever Elena and Victoria were and the others were still probably at the boarding house, that was the worst fact.

"You're about thirty minutes out of town, in an abandoned warehouse," whispered Dean, looking around for Klaus but he hadn't been in for a long while now. "I'll tell Jeremy and the others will come get you. Then you'll be just fine." He stood up, pulling softly at a strand of Victoria's hair before kissing her on the forehead.

"Dean," she managed to conjure up and not get caught. He nodded, holding her hand and said, "Nothing's going to happen to you. I promise." Victoria nodded and he left, leaving her alone with a miserable Elena.

Elena was still knocked out. The twig was still in her hand and she was still wrapped in strong chains. The cloth was out of her mouth, now being tied around her neck. Victoria could see the clear, purple bruising and the dried red liquid all over the cloth and near it on her neck.

Victoria wanted to cry just by looking at Elena but she didn't. No, she couldn't. When did she become this weak as to cry at the wounded? She saw Caitlyn, Lucy and Dean get hurt all the time when they went hunting. She saw herself get wounded. It never affected her until now. She couldn't let herself get weak, especially not in a situation like this. It wasn't something she could compromise on.

"We're going to be fine Elena," said Victoria to an unconscious Elena. She wasn't really even saying it for Elena, it was for her actually. "Dean's going to get help and you and I will be free."

**Bonnie's POV**

Concentrating wholly on trying to get the spell to work, Bonnie once again dropped some of the candle wax on their sixth map. They even went upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms so they wouldn't get distracted. Caitlyn was now awake and helping Lucy and Bonnie to get the spell to work, hoping that in numbers, they would be able to get through whatever was blocking their magic.

The three witches chanted the spell and in a few moments, the map was on fire again.

"Ugh!" Bonnie screeched, standing up and with her powers, she made the fire bigger. Lucy pulled her away, breaking her concentration and Caitlyn hurried to put out the fire. "I'm sorry," whispered Bonnie, looking down at the ground.

She felt responsible for this happening to Elena. She once again remembered what Rosalinda said to her, _'Each witch is given someone to protect with their lives. You, Bonnie Bennett, it is Elena Gilbert.' _She was failing at that. Just like all the other witches that had come before her. Maybe it was a curse or something, on witches, to fail at guarding the one they were supposed to protect.

She hadn't even noticed when the tears had fell and were now on her flushed cheeks. Lucy pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair and that made Bonnie cry even more. "I should have been there for her. I shouldn't have left."

"No, Bonnie, no. This isn't your fault," assured Lucy. She told Bonnie to hush quietly.

Lucy let Bonnie go very slowly and sat down on the bed. Caitlyn also came and sat down beside Bonnie. She felt a strong connection with the witches, most likely because they were _witches_.

"Not all vampires are bad, Bonnie," started Caitlyn, putting a hand on Bonnie's leg.

"She's right. Caitlyn, Victoria and I have been hunting vampires for almost two years now and we know the difference between the bad vampires and the good vampires," added Lucy, looking closely and understandingly at Bonnie.

Bonnie knew what they meant. The bad vampires were the ones who killed people and the good vampires were the ones that only fed on people but let them live. It wasn't right, using and compelling them but at least they were still alive.

She tried to come in terms with those facts but it would take time. She needed time, which she really didn't have. In the next twelve hours, the vervain in both Elena and Victoria's systems would be gone and they would be chew toys for Klaus. He could make them do anything he wanted them to do and she needed to stop that. She had to find them before he got to them.

There was a small cough from outside the open door. Caitlyn and Lucy shared an understanding look and they left the room silently, leaving Bonnie and Jeremy together.

Jeremy didn't immediately go to Bonnie but stood, watching her. She looked at him. In his eyes, there were still strong feelings for her. Bonnie wasn't sure how she felt about him but she knew that she needed him now. She needed someone who understood her and the best person was Jeremy. She would think it would be Caroline but right now, Caroline was worrying both about Elena and Tyler.

Then Jeremy took small steps towards Bonnie, stepping half a foot away from her on the bed. "How are you feeling?" He asked. She wanted to laugh at the question. _How am I feeling? _She contemplated.

"Angry, irritated…" Bonnie stopped, looking down at the cream covers of the bed. She ran her hand over it for a minute and looked back up at Jeremy's brown eyes. "I should have been here for her."

Jeremy shook his head and held Bonnie's hand. "That's what I said. That's what Damon thinks. It's not our fault, Bonnie. Klaus would have taken Elena no matter who was here," he told her.

Pulling her eyebrows together, she felt her throat get constricted, the sobs gathering there and she threw her arms around him before letting all the sobs out. She cried loudly. "I'm sorry I left, Jeremy. I'm so sorry." She didn't know why she was apologizing but she felt that it was needed.

"Sshh, Bonnie," whispered Jeremy, tickling her ears. He pulled her away from him and kissed her on the forehead. "We'll find her and everything will be better again." Bonnie nodded and gave him a weak smile. He returned it and let her lay her head down on his chest while she tried to get her emotions in control.

She liked the silence. She liked that Jeremy was here for her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to make as much of the moment as she could.

But the silence didn't last for as long as Bonnie would have liked.

"Dean?" questioned Jeremy and Bonnie opened her eyes, looking towards the door where there was no one but Jeremy was definitely looking at someone.

Then Jeremy turned his eyes to Bonnie and after a few short breaths, he said, "Dean knows where Elena is."

Bonnie's mouth hung open and she jumped off the bed. "We have to tell everyone," she murmured. Jeremy got up as well and they hurried out the door. There wasn't a minute to spare now.

**I tried really hard to make this a very emotional chapter but I don't know if I did that. Tell me what you think. Feel free to review (:**


	20. Weaknesses

**Oh my god. I don't remember the last time I even wrote. God, I am so sorry to everyone who has stuck around for me to update. My exams were last week and I barely even had time to eat, sleep and breathe :/ I know it's been three freaking weeks. Again, I am sincerely sorry.**

**Klaus's POV**

He walked into the solid concrete room, holding a plastic tray that held a plate of beef lasagna with some sort of a salad, a glass of grape juice, water and truffle cookies. His two prisoners were in their seats, uncomfortably sleeping. Victoria looked a bit more at peace than Elena; whose wrists and fingers were dripping with blood and the corners of her mouth was healing slowly from the burns made from the vervain cloth.

Klaus could almost feel pity for the new vampire doppelganger sitting in so much pain. Elena had put up with him for so many things that he had done to her but no. He almost felt it, _almost._

"Wake up darlings," he said loud enough to shake the two girls and wake up them up abruptly. Elena leaned a little in her seat, as if she were trying to get away from him. Victoria glared at him, trying her hardest not to look weak in front of him. "Here," he said, placing the tray on Victoria's lap. He then untied the ropes on her right hand to let her eat.

"I don't want to eat," said Victoria firmly, looking him in the eye and not even glancing at the food.

Klaus liked a strong-willed woman but when they didn't do what they were told to, it irritated him. "Now I can't have you dying of fatigue," he told her in a soft voice and added, "Eat the food."

Victoria then glanced down and he saw the hunger and weakness in her eyes for a brief moment. She was really going to keep this up. "I'd rather eat my own shit."

Out of anger, Klaus wrapped his hand around Victoria's neck, squeezing it to give her pain but not to kill her. She struggled, holding onto her stubbornness while Elena begged her to eat. After a moment, Victoria gave in, breathing, "Okay. I'll eat."

Letting her neck go, Klaus smiled at her and watched her as she picked up the silver fork, stab a small piece of beef lasagna and put it in her mouth, chewing softly on it. Feeling pleased, he was about to turn when she suddenly spit on his grey shirt.

Her chewed, orange-reddish food slid down the center of his shirt. He could hear Elena trying to suppress her laughter. He honestly couldn't care about Elena. His anger focused wholly on Victoria and her smiling face.

"Yes, very funny," he muttered. She didn't even know what hit her until her back roughly slammed against the concrete floor and she gasped when Klaus was on top of her, leaving her scared. He kicked her chair down and had her own stake pointing at her chest. "How amusing do you think this is?"

Victoria could barely even breathe. She was quivering uncontrollably and finally, he got the fear out of her. He got under her skin and now she was scared, very scared indeed. And it only lasted for a few minutes.

"You can't kill me. You won't kill me," whispered Victoria into his face, her breath reeking of lasagna, minty scent and that annoying tinge of confidence.

Klaus thought about it. She was right. He couldn't kill her.

Smiling, he lifted her chair up and Victoria grinned at the chance of winning against him. Or so she thought she had won.

"You're right. I won't kill you." Klaus shrugged, turning Victoria's stake in his hand. He walked around the room for a while and then stopped in front of Elena. "But I will kill her."

Klaus stood behind Elena's chair, pressing the wooden stake into Elena's chest. She shrieked and kicked her feet at the floor, which added to her pain. He kept piercing the stake into Elena's chest and it made Elena's shrieks even more painful to hear.

"Stop! Please stop!" Victoria cried and closed her eyes, unable to look at Elena's tortured face. Never in her life had she seen someone so tortured, ever.

Klaus smiled again, removing the stake from Elena's chest and he also pulled the chains off Elena's body. Due to her lack of blood, she didn't have enough energy to attack Klaus so she just fell to the ground, lying down and she just stayed there because that was honestly the most comfortable she had been since she was abducted.

He went up to Victoria and untied all the ropes around Victoria as well, releasing her. Victoria opened her eyes and looked around, her eyes stopping at Elena who was lying weakly on the floor.

"When I come back, that food better be finished," ordered Klaus before storming out of the room, leaving his prisoners to rot.

He made sure to lock the room so Victoria wouldn't try to escape. He didn't like all this waiting around. All he needed was the vervain to be out of both their systems. Elena barely had any left in her. The vervain would be out of her system in at least two to three hours. It was Victoria who was taking too long but that was explainable. Elena lost a lot of blood and Victoria hadn't been injured even a bit so the vervain was taking longer than he wanted to get out. Also the fact that Victoria had taken two times the amount of vervain that Elena took didn't help either.

But no matter what, he wasn't going anywhere without making sure that Elena suffered and died and he had a beautifully compelled blood bag.

**Stefan's POV**

Sitting on the couch with Caroline and Matt next to him, Stefan looked over at his brother who was standing by the window with a tumbler in his hand. Damon distracted himself from thinking about Elena because it was starting to drive him insane. Stefan knew what it was doing to Damon. It was killing him, not knowing what was going on with Elena, where she was, if she was dead or alive.

Stefan knew, and as difficult as it was and still is to admit it, he knew that Damon always loved Elena more than Stefan ever could. Damon kept her alive. That night when Matt and Elena were driven off the bridge, if Damon was there instead of Stefan, he would have saved her.

"We found them!" Bonnie's voice came shouting from the stairs to the parlor.

Everyone turned their attention towards her, Jeremy, Lucy and Caitlyn. For the first time since the witches had gone upstairs, Damon actually had a change of emotion on his face; hope instead of agony.

"Where are they?" asked Matt, standing up with Caroline. Matt came for three reasons: to find Elena, to be there for Caroline and Jeremy and the last, surprising reason, because he wanted to find Rebekah.

Bonnie looked at Jeremy and he nodded, answering Matt's question. "Their about an hour out of town. Dean got to Victoria – " He took a glimpse to his side. Stefan assumed that Dean was standing there. "He says they're at a warehouse and that we need to get to them soon."

Damon put down his tumbler and grabbed his jacket. "Then let's go."

"We have no idea what's in there. We can't just go." Stefan stopped, standing in the way of Damon. This was not ideal after the fight they had earlier. In Damon's mind, Stefan was no longer 'worthy' of calling any of the shots.

Jeremy chipped in, helping Stefan. "He's right. Dean says that there are more than a dozen hybrids there and even a witch. We need a plan."

Elijah stepped forward, detaching himself from Katherine's hip and asked, "Will Dean be able to tell us where the hybrids, the witch, Niklaus and Elena and Victoria are at so we can devise an efficient plan?"

Jeremy's brown eyes turned to his side and listened intently to whatever Dean was telling him, speaking after a few minutes.

"He says there are two entrances and three rooms. The hybrids guard each room and each entrance. The witch doesn't leave Klaus's side unless he enters the room where Elena and Victoria are being held in."

"So we split up into teams?" suggested Matt, his arms folded across the chest of his red hoodie. Stefan nodded in agreement and thought through how the teams should be divided and spoke.

"Elijah, Lucy and myself will attack the hybrids so that Damon..." He was interrupted by Damon, who glared with emotionless cobalt eyes.

"Me, Caitlyn and Katherine will get Elena and Victoria and Caitlyn can then desiccate Klaus, this time, successfully." Damon ended Stefan's sentence. This wasn't how Stefan put the teams together but he agreed to Damon's terms because he really didn't want to upset Damon more than he already had.

Caroline noticed that hers and her friends' names had not been mentioned yet. "And what do we do?" She asked, arching her thin blonde eyebrow and widening her pretty blue eyes.

"You will go and find Rebekah," Elijah told them, nodding his head for their confirmation. Matt, Jeremy, Bonnie and Caroline agreed completely to this, especially Matt.

"And Dean will come with us. He can be very helpful," added Caitlyn, turning her head with a smile towards where Dean was possibly standing as Jeremy also looked at the same direction.

Everyone agreed to the simple plan and headed to get the things that they needed. Katherine and Elijah went to get blood bags for Victoria and Elena. Jeremy, Caroline and Matt got geared with Alaric's stakes, vervain grenades and other things that they needed. Bonnie, Caitlyn and Lucy also went upstairs to get the items that they needed and to go over spells privately. This left Stefan and Damon alone.

Damon slowly poured a little bit more scotch into his tumbler, drank it in one go and started towards the door.

Stefan knew that he needed to apologize now. They needed to cooperate fully with each other. There couldn't be any flaws with their simple plan. He needed to make sure that everyone got out of this safely and he didn't want any bad blood between the brothers to ruin the plan.

"Damon," called Stefan, the tone of his voice clearly filled with regret but that was what it always sounded like.

Damon turned around, his eyebrows furrowed and he said, "I don't want to pick a bone with you. I need you fully prepped to kick hybrid ass." Then he turned back around and began for the door.

Stefan followed him, all the way out the door and to the front yard. "I'm sorry Damon," he started. That was really the most important thing for him to say. "I shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't mean it."

"No problem, Stefan. It's not like I'm trying to keep anyone alive or anything," replied Damon. He obviously didn't accept Stefan's apology. It wasn't heartfelt. It needed to be heartfelt; it needed to sound like he meant it.

He closed his eyes and only reopened them when he knew exactly what he had to say to Damon. "You're right. You are trying to keep people alive." His voice rang with a small sense of earnestness. "You've made all the hard choices and you've done everything in your power to keep the people Elena loves alive."

Walking unhurriedly to Damon, Stefan spoke from his heart, letting out all the things that he had been ignoring and trying not to think about because he didn't want to believe they were true. "And that night, on the bridge, you probably would have made sure both Elena and Matt made it out alive."

That was one of the hardest demons Stefan had to face but he had to face it. He couldn't keep those ghosts in him to haunt him forever. They needed to get out, sooner or later. "You're my brother, Damon. You're the only family I have – "He finally reached Damon and sighed. "You're all I got and no matter what happens, I've got your back. So I'm sorry."

The silence grew around them. Damon just kept looking at Stefan with this distraught look on his face, like as if he couldn't believe a word that Stefan said. Stefan meant it though, all of it. _Family comes first. We're Salvatores. Always and forever. _Stefan thought with another sigh.

"It was my blood," said Damon, finally averting his eyes away from Stefan to the ground. "She died with my blood in her system."

Stefan's eyebrows pulled together, wondering why Damon was telling him this and answered back calmly with, "You saved each other." His lips twitched into a tiny smile and he explained. "If your blood wasn't in her system, she would've died, for good and if she hadn't died as a human, you would have been staked by Alaric. You saved each other."

There was another moment of silence and Damon gave a tiny smile as well. "Hey," he said and his smile turned into his signature smirk. "I got your back. Try not to get yourself killed."

Stefan grinned, glad that Damon forgave him and he nodded. Then a few minutes later, the others came out, fully prepared to go save Elena and Victoria and to desiccate Klaus, this time, for good.

**Victoria's POV**

Holding Elena in her arms, Victoria sighed. Her chin rested on Elena's head and she whispered one last time that everything was going to be okay.

Elena was still weak. Unfortunately, Victoria couldn't be any help. There was still vervain in her so Elena couldn't drink her blood.

Elena was badly injured. She needed blood to heal her or else she wouldn't heal fast enough to help either of them. She was resting now, trying to build a little of her strength but who knew when Klaus would return and what he would do to Elena. He wasn't going to stop till she was drained of vervain or begged to be killed.

"Victoria," a familiar voice said her name and she looked up with hopeful hazel eyes.

"Dean," she whispered back.

Elena moved in her arms, glancing up and closed her eyes when she knew she wouldn't' see anybody there except for Victoria.

"They're coming," he said, coming closer, hugging both Victoria and Elena.

Victoria thought she could cry and she hugged Dean back with one arm. "You did it, Dean."

"You both are going to be okay. You're going to be fine, babe," whispered Dean and he let her go, grinning widely. He kissed her forehead and jumped at the sound of the door squeaking, disappearing the next second.

Victoria's arms tightened around Elena securely to protect her but without her stakes and weapons, she was useless against an original hybrid.

"What a sight we have here, don't we Klaus?" said a girl standing next to Klaus. She was grinning devilishly.

Elena lifted her head up and hissed at the girl. Elena forced herself out of Victoria's arms and in her vampire speed, ran to the girl, attempting to bite her but Elena was only able to take a few steps away from Victoria before she crumbled, falling to her knees and her arm twisting in inhuman ways.

"What are you doing to her?" Victoria screamed and she tried to help Elena but just where Elena was, Victoria couldn't pass. There was an invisible barrier keeping her away from Elena. "Elena!" Victoria screamed, smashing her palm against the barrier.

"Be kind, Tessie. She's been through so much," spoke Klaus, sincerely and that sincerity vanished with a smug half smile.

Klaus walked around Elena's shuddering body, caressing her flushed cheek with the back of his hand and moving the slightly wet hair from out of her face. He stopped in front of her and bent down, looking into her half-dead brown eyes.

"Let's see if you're drained yet," whispered Klaus into Elena's ear and looked into her eyes, keeping the gaze steady. "Go and feed off Victoria till she dies."

Tessie, the witch, stepped closer with that same annoyingly devilish smile plastered on her face and that smile fell to a frown when Elena replied with all her strength, "Go to hell."

Klaus didn't seem at all offended by this. Instead, he laughed stridently and got up, walking to Tessie. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "You know what you have to do."

Tessie nodded and that smile returned. Victoria could tell that something terrible was going to happen. She had to stop it before anything bad happened. She looked back to see if there was anything, absolutely anything that could help her and her eyes darted to the brown rope laying next to her chair.

Before Victoria could even move from her spot to get the rope, Tessie already began to torture Elena, mercilessly.

A small fire started on Elena's jeans and she panicked instantly, rolling her leg around the floor to get rid of it. This did her no help and the fire kept growing up her leg to her thigh. While this happened, Klaus appeared and pierced Elena's back with Victoria's stake.

"Elena!" shrieked Victoria and without wasting another second, Victoria reached for the rope. She struggled at first to make a knot because of all the frustrations. The half-whimpering and screeching sounds escaping Elena's lips broke Victoria's heart every time.

Finally, when she made the knot, she slipped the tied rope around her neck and called to Klaus, "Hey!"

Klaus looked away from Elena and raised a concerned eyebrow at Victoria.

"Let her go!" Victoria demanded, holding one of the ends of the knot to pull. "Or else you'll lose the only thing that fuels your power." Shaking, Victoria stepped back to get away from Klaus because Tessie could easily put the barrier down and let Klaus enter to do whatever he pleased. "I'll pull it before you get to me. I will and than what do you think happens, Klaus? You'll be left with _nothing." _Victoria's voice was filled with power and just to show Klaus she wasn't kidding, she pulled on the end, tightening the rope around her little neck.

"We'll let her go," said Klaus calmly. He glanced at Tessie with a nod and Tessie smirked, kicking Elena through the barrier to Victoria's feet. "We'll leave then?" Klaus and Tessie turned around and went up to the door.

Victoria pulled Elena's head onto her lap, Elena's blood inking her hands and jeans. Elena was panting heavily, her body writhed when Victoria touched one of the deeply pierced wound on Elena's stomach.

"By the way Victoria," Tessie started. "Boom." The word wasn't even audible but she made it out and with a blink, there was a blast in the room. Victoria leaned down to protect Elena but it was there again, the barrier, and she couldn't help Elena

When the barrier lifted, Elena's lifeless body was lying face down and at first Victoria couldn't even get her body to move. She thought Elena was dead but she couldn't be. It was only a vervain grenade. Those things don't kill, they only severely injure.

"Elena," Victoria croaked and crawled up to her. She was afraid to touch her but she needed to. She needed to know that Elena was still okay.

Then with all her might, Victoria rolled Elena over to her back and gasped, tears gushing down her sweaty cheeks. Elena's face was burned and parts were healing. There was blood all over and Victoria cried at the sight. "Elena," she whispered and took Elena's hand, pressing it against her chest, crying even more.

Elena puffed a breath and blinked her eyes a few times but that was all she could do. Sobbing, Victoria tore the hem of her shirt and started to clean the blood of Elena's face gently with water that Klaus brought earlier. This time, Elena didn't writhe when Victoria touched the wounds. She could no longer feel them. She was so numb that she could no longer feel the pain.

"They're coming, Elena. Everything's going to be okay," sobbed Victoria, praying hopelessly in the weakest form to be saved.

**I've already started to write the next chapter. It'll be up in at least the next two days okay? Review please?  
Oh and my continuous mention of 'killing' Klaus was actually meant for desiccate. Sorry about that. I forgot the word for it and I recently got back all my TVD episodes. Anyway. Thanks for reading, sticking around and reviews are a catalyst to my writing so leave one, please? (: **


	21. To Love And Die

**Sorry I keep stalling with the rescue scene ._.**

**Damon's POV**

***Nearly an hour after the grenade incident***

Slamming the door of his car shut, he saw that Elijah, Katherine and Lucy were already there and the first hybrid was dead. Elijah looked back at the group that arrived and Damon gave a nod of approval for Elijah to open the warehouse doors.

"Rebekah has to be in the building," stated Caroline, walking along side with Damon. She had a stake in her hand for good measure.

"Find her and get the hell out of here," ordered Damon. He expected Caroline to argue back but she didn't say anything and just nodded.

When they entered the building, Caroline, Matt, Bonnie and Jeremy headed off to the right where Dean said that area was guarded more than the others but not as much as the one straight ahead and down to their left. They figured that Rebekah's body was probably there.

The others, Damon, Stefan, Elijah, Katherine, Caitlyn, and Lucy followed Dean forward. Lucy and Caitlyn were using their magic to keep sight of Dean's ghostly aura. It took a bit of power from both witches but as they were working together, they were still strong enough to take down anything that came in their way.

"Watch out!" cried Caitlyn and everyone ducked, except for Elijah, who disappeared.

A plank of flamed wood was thrown in their direction. Damon glanced up to see a platinum blonde haired woman standing fiercely in front of them.

"Ya'll picked the wrong warehouse to go to," said the woman and she pointed her hand at the vampires, giving each one of them a vamp-headache.

Damon and the rest of the vampires fell to their knees. This wasn't like the other headaches they were ever given. It didn't only affect the brain but it was like it was spreading from the head to the rest of the body. Then every part suddenly started to give signals of growing pain.

He heard a shrill, female scream from in front of them but his vision was a little blurry so he wasn't sure what was going on. It looked as if Elijah was holding Tessie and Caitlyn was chanting a spell while Lucy rushed to Katherine's aid.

Once Katherine was back on her feet, Lucy helped Damon. When Lucy went to help Stefan, she was thrown to the side violently. It was Tessie. She broke free from Elijah and was now using her magic on Lucy.

"I'm a lot stronger than you bitches combined," said Tessie, rolling her eyes at the vampires and witches feeble attempts to get to her.

Katherine ran to her and tried to attack but he was thrown off to a side as well. Damon took out a stake and threw it at her but it deflected back at him, stabbing him in the shoulder. This witch was more powerful than any other witch that he had ever met. She was invincible.

Damon managed to remove the stake in his shoulder and his eyes wandered around to look for Caitlyn. She was once again chanting another spell and then Elijah appeared again, holding another stake and this time, he managed to plunge it into the witch's back but this wasn't enough. The witch was more like a vampire than a witch.

Tessie pulled out the stake using her magic and stabbed Elijah's heart. She would have known that this wouldn't kill him but the pain would be there.

This was one Caitlyn took her opportunity and with the help of her magic, she managed to give Tessie a headache of her own. Although this was all Caitlyn could do so with the stake in his hand, Damon hurried and plunged it to her chest, killing her in a few moments.

Stefan, Lucy and Katherine were now on their feet. Elijah stood by Katherine and made sure that she was okay. Stefan looked a bit weak but he was putting on a brave face.

"You three get Victoria and Elena," said Lucy, referring to Katherine, Damon and Caitlyn. "We'll make sure that the hybrids don't attack you."

Then with that, Damon and Katherine followed Caitlyn to wherever Dean led them to. Damon, being more paranoid than he ever was, wondered if they could even trust Dean. For all they knew, he could be leading them into a trap just to save Victoria. They would never know but now was not the time for such thoughts. He needed help and he was going to take it from the people who were willing to give it to him.

They went through a couple of turns and Damon could hear that a fight broke out with the hybrids and Stefan, Lucy and Elijah.

"We're almost there. Klaus got the witch to make this place look like it has more rooms. Dean's just trying to find the girls through his memory of the actual location of the real rooms," explained Caitlyn.

Damon sighed, trying his hardest to believe that and as they kept walking, the sound of the fight got less loud and the sound of Elena pleading for help reached his ears.

_Elena…I'm coming for you._

**Caroline's POV**

"She's here," whispered Bonnie and before they made a turn, Caroline took a quick glance and saw one hybrid standing by the door, guarding it with awareness.

Without making a sound, Caroline nudged Jeremy and tilted her head towards the turn. "Go," she mouthed to him and Jeremy did as he was told. He made the turn and called out to the hybrid.

The hybrid did as Caroline expected him to do. He appeared in front of Jeremy and Caroline turned, breaking his neck with her hands. Jeremy's eyebrows rose and his lips twitched into a smile.

Matt passed by Jeremy and ran to the door. The other three shared a few staggered glances and ran after him. The door had a lock on it, which Caroline broke easily. Matt entered first and his disappointed eyes turned to Caroline's dim blue ones.

"She's not here," he murmured.

Caroline opened her mouth to say something but Bonnie jumped in and said, "No, she's here. The coffin's being cloaked by magic."

Then Bonnie began to walk around the room. She chanted a spell as she did and she didn't stop for at least two and half minutes. She stood in front of one of the walls, a small distance that should have the width of the coffin and she gave a nod of confirmation to the other three.

She did one last spell and the coffin appeared in front of her. She stepped away from the coffin and let Matt open it.

Inside, Rebekah was lying on the white cushioned coffin, her body in grey and her nerves clearly visible on her skin. Matt looked at her with hopeful eyes and held the dagger tightly, pulling it out with a lot of might. This didn't instantly wake her up.

"Maybe I should go help Stefan and the others?" questioned Caroline, about to leave but Jeremy caught her wrist.

"Damon told us to leave when we got to her. We need to go, now," he said protectively.

"Don't worry, Jeremy. I'm going to be fine," she told him, releasing his wrist from his grasp but he caught it once again. He was resistant to let her go. She didn't understand why but after a moment of glimpsing at Bonnie, she had a small understanding.

Matt, Bonnie and Caroline was what were left of his family. With Elena in God knows what state, Jeremy needed the three of them.

Caroline nodded and Jeremy released her hand, looking back at Rebekah.

Matt was still standing by her, looking at her. At least he had her back. Caroline had no idea where Tyler was and until Klaus was taken down, she wasn't going to find out. She wished she knew. She wanted him back, so much.

And half a minute after this thought, Rebekah gasped into life. _That didn't take too long_. She probably wasn't daggered for much time.

"Matt," whispered Rebekah. She propped herself on her elbow and Matt helped her lean against the edge of the coffin to let her sit comfortably.

"Hey," he replied and touched her now rosy face. The corners of Rebekah's pink lips twitched to a small smile and her eyes got all watery. She blinked them away and looked at the other three faces in the room.

"Thank you," she said. "All of you." She nodded continuously and looked back at Matt, her smile growing and she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her and he hugged her back.

They all smiled at the scene and Jeremy went over to Bonnie, entwining their fingers and they gave each other a gaze of hope and love.

Rebekah let go of Matt, her eyes even more teary than earlier and she jumped out of the coffin, being steadied by Matt holding her arm. She held back onto it and said to Caroline, "Tyler is in the cellar he went to on full moons before."

Caroline's mouth hung slightly and she had to fight the compulsive urge to run out the warehouse and go to Tyler but she couldn't leave yet. She wanted to make sure that Elena was okay. Even though Damon gave them instructions to leave, Bonnie and Caroline agreed in the car that they would go help others once they found Rebekah, even if Jeremy didn't approve.

"Go Caroline," Bonnie told her. "We'll take care of Elena." And with that, Caroline stormed out of the warehouse, into her car and she drove as fast as she could to get to Tyler.

**Elena's POV**

She was not sure what to feel anymore. She was not sure if she _could _even feel anymore. She could see again, clearly and what she saw was a distraught, crying Victoria, holding her like a child. The sense of weakness that she felt was terrible. All those days of training with Alaric, all those days of transitioning and learning to cope with being a vampire was a waste if this was how she ended up. In the arms of a seventeen year old girl who was just as weak as her.

Victoria tried to offer her some blood but Elena wouldn't take it. Having vervain blood was going to be just as painful as having the vervain grenade thrown at her once again. She wished it would have killed her. Death seemed to be more kind than what she had been through in the past several hours but she guessed that was the whole point with what Klaus was doing.

Elena's ears became alert and her eyes darted at the door, finally able to move her head again freely. She thought her ears were deceiving her. For a moment, she thought she could hear Damon's voice. _No, it can't be…but…Is Damon really here? _

"Victoria," she whispered weakly and Victoria looked down at Elena. Her eyes were red, her flushed cheeks were puffy and there were still tears on them. Her hair was in a mess and she looked disastrous. She needed just as much help as Elena did. "They." It was all Elena managed to say and she shut her mouth when Klaus stormed into the room.

"We're leaving," he told Victoria. He came over and pulled her away from Elena.

Victoria tried to fight back, kicking and punching him in places that would have been effective if he wasn't a hybrid and a fifty times stronger than her. "Let me go!" Victoria screamed and kicked him in the shin.

It looked like Klaus's grasps loosened and Victoria tried to head for the door. She must have got the message that the others were here and as she tried for the door, she screamed vociferously, "Help!"

This was only help for a fraction of a second because Klaus caught her again and knocked her out cold. He dropped her to the ground and a man, most likely a hybrid, came in and lifted her up, ready to take her but he waited for further orders from Klaus.

Klaus quickened his pace to get to Elena. He lifted her up and sat her up against a wall. "My sweet, Elena," he told her and pushed the hair back. "I won't kill you. You still have one show to watch before I do."

"Take her," he ordered his hybrid and stood up, getting away from Elena.

_One show to watch. _Elena feared that something bad was going to happen to someone that she loved but who?

The hybrid walked out and left the room but the vampire and the hybrid in the room turned their attention to the open door when they heard a blood curling scream.

Elena tried not to be too hopeful. For all she knew, it could be the other way around of what she was thinking but it wasn't.

Damon strode in a BAMF* way. Elena smiled and sighed, relieved to see his face. If she were to die then and there, she would be partly satisfied. She saw him before she died. He came for her.

He looked at Elena for only the shortest amount of time and then went straight at Klaus. He threw a punch that Klaus dodged.

Klaus pounded Damon in the stomach and Damon let out a grunt. Klaus pushed Damon to the wall and in a flash, Damon tried to get to Klaus, pressing his fingers into Klaus's chest just as Stefan had done when they first desiccated him but this wasn't enough. Klaus pushed Damon off and elbowed him in the face.

Damon was left blinded for a moment and Klaus took this to his advantage; he made it quick to take out Victoria's stake and he got real close to staking Damon but Caitlyn came in. She used her magic to get it out of his hands and it fell close to Elena.

Caitlyn tried to use her magic to weaken Klaus but somehow, he seemed to have gotten stronger and he ran to Caitlyn, trying to snap her neck but Damon came up from behind and pulled Klaus away. Caitlyn seemed unchanged from this sudden facing of death. Instead, she didn't even take time to recover and tried to weaken him again.

During the time Caitlyn took, Klaus further beat Damon up. There were punches being thrown and despite Damon's hardy efforts to attack with just as much power, he was nowhere near succeeding. Damon's nose was bloody, the red liquid dripping down to his bloody lips and mouth. There were tiny bleeding scars on his face and Elena could see that he felt a lot of pain in his stomach and shoulders, where Klaus had attacked the most.

This was the show that Klaus referred to. _One last show to watch. _Elena didn't want to die like this, not while watching her love being beaten to death by the man that ruined her entire life.

"Damon," she breathed, looking at him, trying not to breakdown in tears. She needed to stay strong, for both of them.

The beating went on for quite a while and suddenly, Caitlyn managed to get to Klaus as he fell to his knees but not before throwing Damon at Elena.

"Damon," whispered Elena and she lay herself down with whatever energy that she managed to gather and put her hand on his cheek, wiping some of the blood off on her fingers.

"Elena," he whispered back, smiling bloodily. "I'm sorry I was too late."

Elena sobbed and she held back the ones that wanted to follow. With furrowed eyebrows, she shook her head and gasped in some air. "No. You came anyway." She told him, trying to get herself closer to him. He also got closer and took her free hand in his.

"I will never leave you," his soft voice told her soothingly and kissed her on the forehead once they were close enough. He left his scent and coolness on her forehead, which she loved and to feel his lips on her skin gave her a slight sense of relief she had been searching for. "I love you, Elena."

"I love you too, Damon," she whispered and they lie close to each other, keeping each other warm and in company as they waited for death to take them away.

Elena looked over Damon's shoulder to see how Caitlyn was dealing with Klaus and it wasn't good because Caitlyn was now lying on the ground, unconscious and Klaus was walking towards them, looking at the stake that was too far away for Elena to reach. She accepted this as her end, closed her eyes and tightened the grip on Damon's hand. At least she was dying with someone she loved.

Then as Damon's grip on her hand tightened, there was a gasp and a cry from near them and Elena fluttered her eyelashes and her eyes opened, looking over Damon's shoulder once again to see a sight that she did not expect to see.

Damon turned onto his back, still holding Elena's hand and his mouth drooped open when he saw Ester in front of Klaus with the white ash stake in Klaus's heart.

Ester stepped back from Klaus and his whole body lit up into flames, burning his clothes, his skin and the amber flames rising from where the stake was. A tear drop fell from his left eye and Elena read once that tears that fall from the left eye first symbolize sadness. Everything Klaus ever was burned up in him and he was now turning into nothing in front of the woman that he loved and hated the most, his mother. Then in a slow process, his body charred and turned into ash that sat on the floor.

Elena wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad. She wasn't sure whether to break down in tears or to kiss Damon fully on the lips. The man who ruined their lives was finally gone, he was dead and yet, he was still there. He was haunting them, teasing them in the cruelest way. The only way they could live was with him being alive and now that he was gone, they would also die. Even with him gone, he was still there.

"Now what?" Elena asked, automatically and Damon looked back, his face still in astonishment of what had just happened. That was a question that he wasn't sure if he could answer. _Now what?_

**Right. Cliff-hanger. I will be back in a day or two with a new chapter. Tell me what you thought of the chapter and what you think will happen next (: **

**Stay tuned for next time.**

***I really did not find a better way to describe the way he walked in. I really did imagine him to be really bad-ass when he walked in and I was picturing it like the way in episode 21 of season 2 where he rips out Greta's heart and there is lightning and stuff. I imagined it like that but without the lightning.**


	22. Plan B

**I'm not sure if what I'm doing will make you guys happy but I'm really stuck with this idea, so I'm just going to go with it :/ **

**Rebekah's POV**

***A few minutes before Klaus dies***

If she ever had to pinpoint a moment where she wanted to live her life to the fullest and be the happiest she had ever been, this would be that moment. Matt was holding her hand, walking to the exit of the warehouse and for the first time in the longest possible time, she felt human.

Rebekah stopped walking because before she left, she wanted to make sure that this was real. She turned to Matt and looked into his blue eyes. They were so blue. He was the perfect high school normalcy that she needed, that she wanted.

He looked down at her lips and kissed them softly. The softness gave her tingles in her toes and she could feel what they called 'butterflies' in her stomach but it was only short lived.

She pulled back and her eyes directed towards the path where Bonnie and Jeremy had gone in. She heard a cry or something like a soft whimper and it sounded an awful lot like Klaus. Had he finally been desiccated? She needed to know.

Leaving Matt where he was, Rebekah ran, passing Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan and Lucy who were very close by and reached the entrance of a concrete room where when she reached, Katherine and Elijah were giving Victoria some of her blood.

Her gasp was muffled by her hand clasped over her mouth and Elijah appeared from behind her, holding her shoulder and she saw it all over again. She saw her brother die in front of her again but this time, she saw it all. She saw him burn and turn into ash.

Damon and Elena were on the ground, helpless and weak while their mother, Ester, was standing calmly in front of Nik, watching him burn. How could a mother do that? How could she watch as her son burned and died?

Elijah stopped her from stopping the whole thing, holding her waist and pulling her away but she pushed on, wanting to help Nik because he was still her brother and she couldn't take the heart wrenching pain of watching her brother die all over again in front of her. It contradicted a lot of what she felt before and what she wanted to do but she never wanted Nik to die. She only wanted him to be desiccated so that he could always come back. This way, he would be gone forever.

Once Nik turned completely into ash, Rebekah had already shed the tears and was now out of Elijah's holding. Filled with anger and vengeance, she threw herself to Ester, grabbing her neck and pinning her up the wall with her vampire teeth pointing to her.

"You bitch!" Rebekah screamed and Elijah once again came, pulling her away.

"Stop it, Rebekah!" He told her, trying to stay calm but even Rebekah could hear that he was just as angry and sad about Nik's death.

The others came to the doorway and they all froze there, staring at the scene in the room, shocked by the turn of events. What would happen to them all now? With Nik dead, they would all die too and that moment of happiness that she felt turned on her.

If she ever had to pinpoint a moment where she could feel sadness and anger in equal measure and happiness in the smallest amount, this would be that moment.

**Damon's POV**

After the brief spat between the Original-bitch-witch and Original-Barbie, Stefan and Jeremy gave Elena and Damon a blood bag, each, to help them both heal properly. Matt arrived soon after to the room and now everyone was gathered there. Victoria also woke up and was being held close to Caitlyn, Lucy and Katherine. She looked stronger after being healed and with her stake back in her hands.

Elijah, Bonnie and Rebekah had Ester tied to the chair with the rope. She was powerless, the three witches confirmed so she wouldn't get out of the chair. She looked heartless with her blank face and her dead eyes. She killed her own son and she looked like she could feel nothing, like a psychopathic, cold-blooded serial killer.

"Elena," said Damon when they were done with their blood bags and now had their strength back. She looked at him, her face blank as well. He wanted to know what was going through her mind.

It was only a few weeks ago that she came back and now she was most likely going to die. Damon had enough trust in Elijah to believe it when he said that Klaus was the one that created their bloodline.

Elena stood up and Damon tried to help her but she refused it, rising up her palm to tell him to stop. He didn't know what was wrong, whether she was mad at him or not. She walked up to Ester, her body seemed stiff and she looked uncomfortable walking. She was still weak and tired.

"You will fix this," said Elena to Ester, standing strong in front of her despite being weak.

"There is no way," said Ester and in a second, Elena punched her hard in the face, leaving a bruise on Ester's face.

Damon had to admit, he found that pretty hot and was impressed by Elena's strength. It was understandable. She didn't go through all of Klaus's suffering to die in the end. She survived and she was going to keep surviving.

"You're a witch. Vampires were made by a spell. Find a fucking way," growled Elena.

Ester recovered from the punch quickly and said, "I don't have any powers. I never created a reversal spell for vampires so none exists." Then after a moment she added, "I'm sorry to all of you but you all should have died when you died."

"None of them deserved to die! They were all caught in vampire problems that you created!" Jeremy shouted from where he was standing. His hands were in fist and Bonnie tried to control him but even she was angry.

It was true what he said. Katherine turned because she was trying to save herself from Elijah and Klaus. Damon and Stefan turned because they tried to save Katherine. Caroline turned because Katherine wanted revenge from the Salvatores. Tyler turned because they tried to save Elena and the same reason went for Bonnie's mom. Elena turned because she was the heart of all of Klaus's hybrid problems. If vampires had never been created by Ester, then all of them would have lived and died when they had to.

Ester looked down, guiltily. "And for that, I am sorry but there is nothing I can do."

Damon felt all his hopes being crushed and went to Elena, taking her hand in his. The best he could do with his last hour was to spend it with one of the only things and people that mattered to him. At least this time, he wasn't going to die alone.

"Maybe there is," murmured Victoria awkwardly and she looked at the vampires in the room who looked back at her with a lot of hopes and expectations. "Kat told me the story about the vampire, Janine who was turned back into a human."

Damon recalled the story and even the things the witch in the story used. _Mountain ash, white oak ash and the witch's blood. _

"But it's only a story. It doesn't work or at least no witch has had enough power to complete the spell," stated Elijah and their hopes and expectations were crushed again.

Elena's grip on Damon's hand tightened and she was biting her lip, trying to fight back her tears. "Elena," he whispered and turned her around to hug her. "I'm sorry." He told her, not sure for what he was apologizing.

"But you only used one witch." Victoria spoke again and Damon was getting a bit frustrated with her speaking. He knew she was trying to help but she wasn't being very helpful. "And now, you have three witches with a lot of power. Maybe if they did the spell together…?"

"What if it doesn't work?" asked Stefan, being the least hopeful of them all.

Elena got out of Damon's arms and said, "We have to try."

Everyone exchanged glances with one another and agreed to the plan. Elijah told the whole gang what they needed for the spell to work, his voice shaking at some points and Damon had a feeling it was because after hundreds and hundreds of years, to have a chance, no matter how small, to turn human was something that was shaking them all.

"You will also need my help," murmured Ester from her seat. She spoke softly and gently looking at Damon who had just thought of the one thing wrong with their plan. _We only have an hour. _

"And why would we need your help?" asked Katherine, her voice firm and clearly heated.

"Because you will never get any of the things you need in under an hour and pull of the spell. You need time," Ester replied, just as edgily, glaring at Katherine. "I can give you time." She looked at Elena, who was obviously leading this whole operation.

Elena took in a short breath and nodded. "How do we slow it down?"

Ester was pleased that they were letting her help and answered in her soft, English voice. "Ayana put a spell on me to make sure that I had enough time to kill Niklaus - "Rebekah winced, standing next to Elijah and Matt. "It's very simple and Bonnie can do it in a matter of minutes."

All eyes averted to Bonnie and she walked over to Ester, listening carefully to what she had to do. In a few seconds, Bonnie looked carefully at each of the vampires, asking them to line up next to each other, except for Elijah and Rebekah.

Once everyone was lined neatly next to each other, Elena took Damon's hand, smiling hopefully and Damon tried to return the smile with the same hope but he couldn't.

Bonnie took some Klaus-ash and began with the spell. "Tempus sit super latus tuis. Vos date tempus." She repeated that line over and over again.

A moment later, she took a deep breath, going up to each of the vampires, starting with Katherine and ending with Damon, rubbing the ash on each of their chests, where their hearts were.

"It's done," she told them as she stepped away from Damon, wiping the Klaus-ash off her hands and creating a small pile on the floor. "You have an extra hour, more or less."

Once more, everyone exchanged a hopeful yet scared glance with each other and everyone dispersed to do the tasks that were assigned to them.

Victoria, Caitlyn and Katherine went to get mountain ash which Caitlyn luckily had back at their apartment in Mystic Falls. Rebekah, Elijah, Lucy and Ester who was knocked out by Rebekah (who gladly did it) went to get the white oak ash from the Salvatore Boarding house. Matt, Bonnie, Jeremy, Elena, Stefan and Damon were told to go to the dead-witches house where they would perform the spell to increase the three witches' powers.

They went outside to the cars and Elena was suddenly being hugged by Bonnie, Jeremy and Matt. Stefan gave her an awkward hug as well, kissing her on the forehead and asking her if she was alright.

Elena looked around near the warehouse and raised an eyebrow, turning back to the others. "Where's Caroline?" She asked and Bonnie gasped suddenly.

"Oh Caroline," she said, her hand over her mouth just after.

Damon and Stefan obviously missed something. They looked at each other worriedly and Stefan quickly built up with concern.

"She went to see Tyler," muttered Matt.

"Who the hell told her where Tyler was?" asked Damon, practically shouting. Hybrid-boy wasn't supposed to get out of the cellar till they knew that Klaus was desiccated. Barbie had to be here for the spell.

"Rebekah did but she needs to go the witch house or she'll die," stated Jeremy.

Abruptly, everyone got into their respective cars and they drove quickly to get to the witch house, not wanting to waste anymore time. Elena got onto calling Caroline, needing to inform her of what was now going on and what she had to do. Caroline couldn't die.

**Caroline's POV**

She walked down the steps, touching the rocky walls and she felt her heart thump against her chest loudly. _Maybe he can hear that. _She thought and smiled at it. She breathed in and her steps became slower. She wanted to linger in the moment, she wanted to see him in slow motion because it had been so long and she just…she just needed to see him the right way.

She couldn't explain what exactly it was that she was feeling. Heart wrenching anticipation, that last adrenaline kick and a mix of emotions were all running through her entire body, slowly and painfully building that joy of getting to see him again.

Then when Caroline reached the gates, tears blurred her vision and she whispered, "Tyler."

He looked up at her and she saw that his wrists were chained. She ran in and ripped them off the wall.

"Care," he whispered back and their lips touched, igniting a flame that had long been waiting for fuel.

Caroline ran her hands through his hair, her rosy cheeks had tears flowing down them and they touched Tyler's face coldly. She smiled in between the kiss and so did he. His hands were on her waist and they pulled back, looking into each other's eyes. She never realized how much she missed those wolfy brown eyes and that bubbly face and he couldn't even begin to explain how much he longed to drown in her crystal blue eyes and see her room-lighting smile.

Caroline's hands fell from his hair, wrapping her arms around his neck and he hugged her back by tightening his arms around her waist. "I missed you, Care," he whispered into her ear, tickling it with his hot breath.

"I missed you too, Tyler," she whispered back to him and then she continued to kiss him longingly.

They could have gone on like this forever had Caroline's phone not buzzed and interrupted them.

Caroline answered her phone and the two of them ran out of the cellar so that she could get better reception. It was Elena. She felt like the happiest person ever. She had Tyler and Elena had been rescued. They were all safe and problem free.

Or so she thought until Elena spoke.

When Elena finished off her sentences, Caroline screamed in her head, _no, no, no. God, please, no. _But Elena went on and Caroline couldn't take it anymore. "NO!" She screamed to the phone, crying her eyes out and dropping the phone onto the ground.

Tyler took Caroline's shoulders and asked, "What happened?" Caroline kept shaking her head, biting her lips and crying. She couldn't bring herself to say anything that Elena told her. How could she? She just got him back and she was now so close to losing him.

When Tyler realized that he wasn't going to get any answers from Caroline, he picked up the phone from the ground and spoke to Elena.

"What happened, Elena?" He asked her, keeping his voice calm.

"I don't have time to explain right now, Tyler but you and Caroline need to get to the witch-house or else you both might die," said Elena quickly over the phone and Tyler nodded even though Elena wouldn't see.

He hung up the phone and dragged a still crying Caroline to her car. The keys were still in the ignition and he began to drive immediately. He was glad that he was finally out of that cellar and in fresh air but having Caroline sobbing next to him and not knowing what the hell was going on dampened that happiness.

"It's going to be okay, Caroline," he told her, putting one hand on her thigh and he drove to the witch house. They couldn't lose each other, not now, not ever.

**Bonnie's POV**

Stepping inside the witch house made her feel weak. She disobeyed the witches, she went her own way. She defied them and they were making her feel weak to punish her. They surely wouldn't take away her powers because she was going to get rid of all vampires, which is what witches wanted from the start so they would let her go on with this.

Elena and Damon decided to stay outside to wait for the others but Bonnie knew it was because they wanted some privacy to talk.

Stefan and Jeremy were following behind Bonnie, down the stairs to the basement and the candles lit up when they entered.

Bonnie took in a deep breath and she could feel a bit of her power surge in her body but it wasn't as strong as it was when she switched Klaus's soul to Tyler's body. She couldn't have that sort of dark magic like before.

"What now?" asked Jeremy, looking around at the scented, lit candles and then looking back at Bonnie with soft brown eyes.

"We wait," she replied and began to take out some bowls, grimoires and put candles on the ground. She might as well set up the place to do the spell.

None of the witches were even sure what the spell was, how they were supposed to do the whole thing or what the consequences were for this but if this could save them – no, it's more than saving them, it's bringing them back, then it had to be done. No matter whatever the cost. 

After a long period of silence, Jeremy murmured her name and looked behind her. "It's your Grams," he murmured and she turned, hoping to see her but she wouldn't. "She says she's here for you, every step of the way and that you need to be very careful. She'll tell you the spell you need to use for this." 

Bonnie smiled and nodded. "She's always here for me." She said that to herself, knowing that Grams and maybe Stefan was the only people that could hear it. She felt someone take her hand and knew instantly that it was Grams. Only Grams' touch made her feel safe and at home. It gave her the courage that she needed.

**Elena's POV**

Wrapped in Damon's arms, sitting on a big rock nearby, she gazed at the stars through the branches and leaves of the canopy of trees. It was beautiful and being with Damon made it all better except, every time she looked away from the stars, it reminded her that if the witches spell doesn't work, then they would all die.

"I don't remember the last time I stargazed for this long," whispered Damon into her ear, his minty breath lingering in her hair and as she breathed it in, she turned around slowly, looking away from the stars and into something much more exquisite – Damon's icy, blue eyes.

He kissed her almost too quickly and took her by surprise for a moment but she responded by kissing him back. He pulled her against him and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing the back of his hair upwards, pulling on it slowly.

Sitting in his lap, they kissed for a few more minutes and she pulled back, looking back into his blue eyes, smiling. Then kissing him again, she explored his body over his shirt, unbuttoning the buttons as she did and he touched her in all the places she liked before moving his warm lips down her neck, making her throw her head back and moan with pleasure. He sucked on one part for a while and she was sure that it left a mark which made her smile even more.

Elena brought his head back up from her collarbones and by then, all his buttons were unbuttoned, exposing his Greek-god chest and stomach. He took it off and lifted her up, squeezing her behind so that she was sitting more comfortably. He pulled her sweater off, throwing it to the ground and ran to the nearest tree, getting away from the house.

Now pinned against a tree trunk, Elena's mind flashed back to memories of the motel where Elena initiated a kiss with Damon.

Damon kissed down her neck, to her chest and one her breasts. His hands were securely on her waist, bringing it close to his own pelvis. Their bodies rubbed against each other and she couldn't stop thinking about the motel.

Elena moaned again, louder this time and an owl hooted right after her from a distance. A cool breeze blew in their direction, cooling their sweaty bodies. Damon intended on savoring every moment of this and so did Elena.

He looked up at her with this look on his face and something in his eyes was different. The way he was looking at her now, she wanted him to take her right there and then.

He gave her a long, slow kiss, different from the first ones. His hands were on her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks strangely, softly. It reminded her of their first kiss on her porch and she didn't want to think about that, not tonight.

"Damon," she managed to say in between the kiss but he ignored her and continued to kiss her, her mouth opening to allow his tongue in and join her own.

His hands fell from her cheeks to button of her jeans and they ran again further away from the house. He was almost successful at taking her jeans off but she pushed him onto the ground, lying on top of him.

Elena gave a small peck to his lips and kissed down his neck, like he had done to her, his chest, his stomach, all the way his jeans that were so in the way. She felt a hand between her inner thigh, moving up to delicate parts of her jeans and she smiled. She felt small tingles and big explosions of pleasure throughout her whole body.

Damon purposely skipped the part where she wanted to be touched, even with her jeans in the way and his hands were on her waist again. He rolled them over so that he was on top now and touched a part just above her left breast, noticing the first time, a scar. He stared at it, the expression on his face taking a 180 from what she wanted.

Elena felt so ashamed of that scar. It was one that Klaus made while she was in his possession. It still hadn't healed away.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Damon said and his cool lips touched that scar.

She didn't even know that she had tears in her eyes until they rolled down her temples. Her cheeks were suddenly flushed and her chest heaved.

Damon looked up at her face and asked her, "What's wrong, Elena?" He wiped the tears away with his thumb and got off her.

Elena sat up on the grass and more tears rolled down her cheeks. "I almost died and now I'm dying again."

This epiphany made her cry more and she shrugged, not sure why she was crying now exactly. Damon didn't say anything but listened to her as she poured her heart out. "It is unbelievable the amount of times I have had a brush with death. I don't know if I'm strong enough to go through that once again."

Damon twisted a strand of Elena's hair and tucked it behind her ear. "Elena Gilbert, how are so strong and amazing?" He asked rhetorically and she laughed in between her cry.

"Strong?" She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"The fact that you can wake up every morning and get out of bed, after everything you have ever been through, you don't think you're strong?" He asked and smiled brightly. She looked at his smile, it felt like home. "You're going to get through this. We're going to get through this. You know why?" She shook his head and she waited for him to tell her. He leaned in, reaching her ear, moving her hair out of the way so he had perfect access. "Because we always survive."

Elena smiled widely and Damon smiled back, biting her ear lobe. His arms tightened around her so she wouldn't get away and suddenly, he began to tickle her.

"Stop Damon," she laughed so hard her stomach hurt and he just kept going on, making her laughter louder and louder until they collapsed onto the ground roughly.

They lay there, gazing back up at the stars and he took her hand in his, glancing at her with sorrow in his eyes. He was thinking about what she was thinking. This might be their last moments together and he tried his very hardest to make it the best last few moments. Making out with her, complimenting her, tickling her and gazing at the stars, it was his ploy to try to keep her happy.

How was she supposed to accept that this was it? How was she supposed to be strong through that? Elena had been through hell and back but this was the worst hell.

She bit her lip softly and whispered, "We should get back."

Damon nodded and they got back up. He was still holding her hand, tightly, as if he couldn't let her go. He kissed her on the temple and went back to the rock in speed. She put her sweater back on and he put his shirt on.

It was only a few minutes later that Caroline and Tyler arrived. Caroline was so shaken up that she didn't even speak to them and walked straight into the witch house. Tyler gave Elena a look and a sad smile before following after Caroline.

Then the others arrived as well. Kol was also there. He apparently compelled a man to give him a helicopter and he flew in from a small town in Iowa.

Everyone went inside, quiet and Bonnie had already put the spell on Tyler and Caroline to give them more time. They looked weak even when they got there and they started to look much healthy, for now.

"What now?" asked Matt as he stood next to Rebekah.

Ester was once again tied to a chair and was still knocked out. Everyone looked at Elijah, who was the only one who had witnessed the spell being performed.

"I remember them mixing the mountain ash and white ash oak together, burning it once again so that they were joined chemically," he began and explained the rest, taking pauses to remember exactly what they had to do. "Then after that, they would chant a spell, which I don't know because they would only mouth the words and I was made to keep my eyes closed."

Bonnie, Caitlyn and Lucy threw some worried glimpses at each other, which was understandable.

"Then they would mix their blood with the ashes and since there are nine vampires here, you're going to need a lot of blood." Elijah paused again and thought of the next thing the witches he used before did and spoke for the final time. "The witches would then spell this mixture and this is where their power gets drained. All I know is that in the end, if the spell worked, we are meant to drink the blood and ash and the witch would have to dagger us."

That was it. That was what they had to do to go back to being human.

"Then what about the spells? If we don't know the spells…" Victoria started, looking at all three witches, hoping they had answers.

"My Grams said she would help with that," Bonnie quickly added and turned to Jeremy. "Is she here?"

Jeremy looked around the room and turned around. "Yes." She was behind him or at least that's what Elena assumed.

"She says that there is no real spell for this. It has to come from the heart. You need to make it up or follow what your heart tells you. That's what fuels the power to do this spell," said Jeremy, looking back at the others.

Bonnie lifted her chin up a fraction and nodded. "Then let's start."

**We're getting there folks. We're getting there. Thank you for reading, stay tuned and review please (: **


	23. Love is Sacrifice

**Hello again. So now that you know what exactly these lovely vampires plan to do, let's see if it'll work or not. Enjoy the chapter. **

***- I suggest that you listen to the song 'Seven Devils' by Florence and The Machine because as I wrote that scene, I imagined it all in my head and the song just fit there. You don't have to if you don't want it. It's just a suggestion (: **

**Stefan's POV**

Bonnie, Caitlyn and Lucy got out their things, laying them out on the ground and they began.

Stefan just stood where he was, not sure what exactly he had to do in the few minutes Bonnie would try to perform the spell and turn them all back into humans. It seemed unreal that in under an hour, they were going to die.

He looked around the room, at the rest of the dying, optimistic vampires. Caroline and Tyler were standing next to each. He was caressing her hand, not fully holding it though.

Rebekah, Matt, Elijah and Katherine were all together, talking about what happened in the warehouse and back in Texas.

Victoria was in a corner, far from everyone else with Jeremy and they were exchanging glances every five seconds in a distressed manner.

Then his eyes stopped at Damon and Elena. She was clinging onto his arm with her head on his shoulder and he whispering something to her that Stefan chose to ignore listening to.

Stefan walked over to Damon, needing to talk to him. If this really was the last half an hour of his life on Earth, he wanted to be around Damon. He was the only family Stefan had and he didn't like the thought of not having their 'epic' goodbye.

When they noticed Stefan coming over, Elena stood straight, removing her arm from Damon's and lightly touching his shoulder with a smile before walking off to Jeremy. Even Elena understood and needed her time with her own brother.

"Time for our epic goodbye?" Damon asked, smirking.

"We don't know if it's goodbye yet so…" Stefan shrugged. There was a look on his face that suggested he wanted to say something but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. Damon could tell instantly and nudged him in the shoulder a little, hoping to get it out.

Stefan then spilled, sighing. "Thank you, Damon."

Damon was confused by these words and Stefan continued to explain after yet another sigh. "For being there, for chasing me to the edge to damn me, for protecting me and for being my brother."

"Don't you think I should be saying all that to you?" joked Damon with a grin and Stefan tilted his head, being completely serious. Damon understood and his grin faded. "As much as I appreciate that, it's me who should thank you. You've saved my life more than ever, so – "Damon rolled his eyes but lifted a corner of his lips. "You and me, till the end brother."

Stefan nodded and awkwardly, yet sentimentally they both pulled into a hug. Stefan thought he was going to cry. The tears were surely there. All eyes in the room, with the exception of the witches, turned to them and stared in surprise and sorrow. Everyone in the room understood what it was like for them.

_The Salvatores might fight like dogs but in the end, family will come first. _

**Victoria's POV**

Caitlyn came over, separating from the other witches for the first time. The others didn't take much notice of this.

"We need your blood," she said blatantly.

"Why?" asked Victoria, standing up from the box she was sitting atop. Dean was right next to her because if Katherine was going to die, then someone needed to keep Victoria in control.

"We need to bind the vampires together so that we only have to dagger one of them," said Caitlyn, her voice pretty much dead. She wasn't okay with doing the spell, Victoria knew that. Caitlyn was very well aware of the consequences with playing with the balance of nature but then again, so did Bonnie.

Victoria nodded, unhesitant to give her blood to the vampires. She was willing to do anything to save Kat and Elena. Those two were the only people who mattered to her. They were her sisters, her family and she wasn't letting either of them go.

Lucy already had a bottle out and a knife. Victoria took the knife in her hand, cutting the other hand deep open. She squeezed as much blood as she could into the bottle, filling nearly half of it. She felt woozy from losing blood and Dean held her shoulders to keep her from falling backwards.

Caitlyn handed her a cloth to wrap around her hand and she sat back down on the box. Dean helped her wrap it around her hand tightly to keep anymore blood from oozing out. It wasn't that painful for Victoria because she was pretty used to going through things like that. Vampire hunting came with a lot of long-term injuries.

_Vampire hunting, _she thought. If the originals turned back to humans, then what happens to the other vampires? What would she do then? Vampire hunting was the only thing she knew. It was what she was good at. When they only turn back, if they turn back, she would have nothing to do with her life. Normalcy was not her thing and without vampire hunting, who would Victoria Hemingway be?

She saw that Ester was staring at her with cold but motherly eyes staring at her and she began to stare back.

Then Victoria stood up and walked over to Ester, sitting by her on her knees. There was something about the way she looked at her that made her know or at least think that Ester had the answers to her question.

Ester smiled and it was hard to believe that this woman was so evil. "Ester," muttered Victoria, not at all happy about the fact that she had to ask her for help. It was a good thing all the vampires went outside to get some air. This left Victoria at ease to ask questions. "What happens to the vampires that don't take part in this spell?"

Dean looked at her and pulled on her arm, trying to take her away. "Get away from her, Tori," he told her and she shook him off, shooting a glare.

Ester glanced at where Dean was standing, as if she could see in and returned her attention back to Victoria. "They stay as vampires."

"How?" Victoria asked instantly and she saw Bonnie look at them. She didn't do anything to stop Victoria from questioning Ester because to her, saving her friends was much more important.

"Elijah, Rebekah and Kol will not be dead. They will live, human or vampire and till they die, their vampire creations will live as well and probably create other vampires," said Ester quietly. "But." _Of course there's a but. _"Klaus's vampires will die if they don't take part in this spell. The ones who didn't get their time extended are probably already dead."

Victoria was surprised by this answer. Dean took her arm again and she stood up. She wouldn't lose being a vampire hunter, at least not anytime soon.

She was back on her spot on the box, with Dean holding her hand and they watched the witches do their magic. The last part of the spell was to pour in quite a lot of blood from each witch so that it would be enough for all the vampires and they were getting close now. Right now, they were chanting the secret spell that Victoria couldn't make out.

"You're going to continue to hunt vampires, aren't you?" asked Dean, anxiety clear as crystal in his voice.

"Yes."

"Why can't you just go on and live a normal life?" He asked and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Vampire hunting is the only normal that I know." She told him. He of all people should have understood.

"Then become a cop or something. Use your skills for something practical in life," he muttered.

Victoria's mouth hung and she answered him through her clenched teeth. "I just need a few months or a year, Dean."

"That's it then. You get a year to hunt as many vampires as you want but you have to promise me that you will stop and do something else with your life," he ordered her.

As much as Victoria didn't want to agree to these terms, she knew he was right. How long could she keep hunting? How many vampires could there really be?

Victoria didn't say anything and Dean understood that it was time for him to drop the topic. By that time, the witches were done with that secret spell.

"Elena!" Bonnie shouted, loud enough for all of the vampires to hear and return back into the room in a matter of seconds. "It's time."

Then the expressions of every single vampire became the same. They all went blank but their eyes, each one of them were fearfully filled with hope.

Victoria stood up and Jeremy and Matt came over to her. They stood on both her sides while Dean was next to Jeremy, keeping a close eye on Victoria. Jeremy seemed the most scared so Victoria took his arm and squeezed it gently.

Caitlyn gave the bottle of Victoria's blood to each of the nine vampires to drink. They all did and once they were bound together, Caitlyn asked them all to circle around the witches. Through the small gaps between the vampires, Victoria, Jeremy and Matt got a good view of what was happening.

The witches proceeded to cut open their hands and drip large amounts of each of their blood into the bowl of white oak ash and mountain ash. Everyone looked around at each other, pausing for about fifteen seconds before moving onto the next person. It was like they were saying goodbye to each other in case of the worst scenario.

Then they began to chant the spell. "Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum." With the three voices, it sounded harmonious and musical.

"It means 'give back the good. Take away the evil. Turn back the monster to good'," said Dean to Jeremy, Victoria and Matt.

* The candles around started to flicker. There was a breeze in the room and there were clouds of dust from the dirty floor that rose up. The witches were holding hands with each other and the bowl of blood and ash was in the center, levitated by their power.

The breeze grew a tad bit stronger and Victoria's grip on Jeremy's arm tightened. He held her close. Matt even stepped closer and everyone had to keep a tight hold onto the floor to keep from flying off.

"Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum." The witches chanted once more and a glass bottle broke from one of the tables. Victoria as a mere human could feel the powerful surge of the magic all over the room.

Nearly all the vampires were also holding hands with each other, keeping the circle strong and together.

"Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum." Another chant and after this one, there was a loud gasp.

It was from Caitlyn. Her eyes were wide open and Victoria gasped at what happened to her next. Her veins were rising up, completely visible on her skin and her hands were getting all wrinkled.

"Caitlyn!" Victoria shouted and she would've leaped to help her but Jeremy was holding her to the ground. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?" She shouted questions but no one knew and they couldn't answer.

Then from a corner, a faint voice murmured, "She's using too much power." It was Ester.

_If Caitlyn uses too much power, she'll die. _With that thought, Victoria broke free from Jeremy's grasp but it didn't do her any good.

Matt caught her arm and pulled her back. She tried to use her strength to push him off but Jeremy got her other arm and together, they pulled her back, far from where the spell was taking place.

"No! Caitlyn don't do it. You can't do this!" Victoria shouted but her shouts were useless. No one was listening to her.

"Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum." There was another chant but this time, it was only one voice that said it and that same voice repeated the chant three more times. It was Bonnie.

This made Caitlyn's skin return to normal and what had happened to Caitlyn was now happening to Bonnie. Except this time, the effects were worse because unlike Caitlyn, Bonnie didn't stop. She kept going on with the spell despite the protesting screams of Elena, Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, Lucy and Caitlyn.

"Bonnie, please! Stop the damn spell!" screamed Jeremy and this time, he attempted to stop it but Victoria alone pushed Jeremy back. She kept him back and even though he didn't like it, she knew she had to. If they were going to stop her when she wanted to save her friend then he was going to stay behind as well.

"You will not die to save us, Bonnie!" screamed Elena and when she tried to step into the witch circle, she couldn't budge. It's like they were stuck on their spot.

"It's for the greater good, Elena," replied Bonnie. There was a small smile and a tear drop fell from her veined skin. Then she said the spell once more. "Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum."

The other witches tried to stop the spell by breaking free but Bonnie was holding onto them too tightly for them to let go. They were too far in the spell to let go now. Before, they were all using an equal amount of their magic but now, Bonnie was using most of her magic.

"Bonnie!" Lucy cried. "Don't get caught up in this vampire mess. You're no longer in between." Victoria never heard Lucy cry before, especially not with tears. Maybe it was the magic that was being drained out of her or maybe it was the actual love and care she felt for Bonnie, either way, Lucy didn't cry.

Suddenly, Dean came up to Victoria and took her hand. He leaned into her ear and whispered, "I love you, Victoria and I'm sorry." Then he kissed her slowly, passionately on the lips, taking his time with it and savoring the moment before he let her go. It sort of felt like a goodbye kiss.

Then he was gone and when she found him again, he was with Bonnie. He was standing right in front of her and he broke the other witches hands, taking hers. "Tell them to grab her shoulders, Tori!" said Dean quietly, not looking at her anymore.

"What are you doing, Dean?" she asked but he didn't reply. Instead he repeated what he said before.

"Tell them to grab her shoulders."

"Lucy, Caitlyn, grab Bonnie's shoulders and keep doing the spell," said Victoria, stepping forward again.

The only other person who could see what was going on was Jeremy and everyone else was left confused as to what was happening.

Then she heard Dean begin to chant the spell as well. Not another second was needed and Victoria understood what Dean was doing. "No, Dean!" She tried to get to him and this time, neither Jeremy nor Matt stopped her. Yet, she couldn't get through. He put up a barrier. "Please, Dean!" Victoria cried and went all around the vampire circle to get to him but the barrier was all around.

In between Rebekah and Elijah, she saw Dean's face most clearly. There were tears down his veined, near grey face. "Please don't, Dean." Victoria saw him trembling and he cried with his gorgeous half smile. His green eyes were smiling as well, like he was happy.

"Da bonum retro. Tolle monstrum. Averte monstrum bonum," he murmured the spell and so did the rest of the witches. That was the last time they chanted the spell and the breeze in the room grew stronger. He put one of his hands on the barrier so Victoria could touch it. She couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything except the cold, salty tears that streamed down her flushed cheeks.

"I love you," he mouthed.

"I love you too," she whispered with a sob.

Then slowly, Dean turned into dust, just so she could see and suffer every moment of it. She let out a gasp and a sob at the same time, falling to her knees. More tears fell and there was nothing she could feel anymore. She couldn't even feel Jeremy's hands when he came to pick her up.

The spell was complete and with half the people in the room in tears, Bonnie took the levitating bowl, passing it to each of the vampires.

Katherine looked at her with sorry eyes and she knew that Kat wanted to come and give her a hug. Kat wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright but it wasn't. Dean was gone and this time, forever.

**Damon's POV**

Once all the vampires had drunk the blood and ashes, Caitlyn gave a dagger to Bonnie. "Who do I dagger?" She asked, not looking at any of the vampires, who were pretty much scared to their bone.

"Me," volunteered Stefan, glancing at Damon with a small smile.

No one said anything to stop him and Bonnie took that as everyone else's agreement to the whole thing. He didn't like the idea of his brother being daggered but it didn't really matter. Either way, everyone was going to die or come back as humans.

Bonnie stepped forward and put the dagger to his chest. Everyone suddenly closed their eyes, except for Damon who was looking at Elena and Stefan. This might be the last time he would ever get to see the two people he loved most so it was best to make the most of it.

Then before he knew it, a dagger pierced through his own heart. It felt like that but there was really nothing. A harmony of sharp gasps echoed in the room and one by one, each vampire fell, starting with Stefan and ending with Damon.

They say that before a person dies, they see a white light. Damon didn't see it. All he saw was Elena's doe brown tear filled eyes and then everything went black.

**So. Right. Okay. You'll have to wait a little bit longer for the next chapter. **

**Reason why I haven't been writing is because I've been really sick and it's exam week and there was so much homework I missed out on so I had to catch up. I tried to write and that's why there are two chapters. It was originally one really long chapter but I made it into two chapters.**

**Please review, they are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. **


	24. Just A Past Life

**I can't tell you the amount of time I've written and re-written this chapter. I've gone over this at least twenty times. This is the last chapter and I would just like to say thank you to all the readers who stuck around till the end. It truly means a lot to me and thank you for putting up with my lateness. Ahah, anyway. Enjoy the chapter. **

**Jeremy's POV**

_20 minutes and 15, 16, 17...seconds._

He'd been counting the seconds, staring at the lifeless, grey bodies that were neatly lined up next to each other. He noticed that Elena and Damon were holding hands, as they had been when they were daggered.

Bonnie was with Matt, sitting next to a few lightened candles to keep warm. She was weak from using all that power and was trying to get a little rest. Caitlyn was constantly hovering over Katherine's body, looking down at it and even checking the pulse but nothing ever happened. They all just stayed as they were.

Lucy and Victoria were outside, sorting a few things out. Now that Dean was dead, even as a ghost-dead, Victoria was more than upset. Jeremy understood what that felt like. To lose someone whom you love. He knew that feeling.

Jeremy looked at Elena's body again. She didn't come back as a ghost, which meant that she wasn't really dead. But then what else could have happened to all of them? If they weren't dead and if they weren't alive, then what other state was there? Was there an in between? And if there was an in between, why were they stuck here? The spell should have worked.

All those questions frustrated Jeremy. He was trying not to think of the possibility that Elena was lost forever. That the only person he had left to call family was gone forever. He couldn't accept that. How do you accept that?

They still had to wait forty more minutes before it was official that the spell didn't work. Elijah and the other vampires agreed to the fact that if they didn't come back in an hour, then it was all a hoax and the spell was a fake. Jeremy still had forty more minutes of hope.

He heard footsteps coming downstairs and he looked at the entrance of the basement. Victoria and Lucy returned.

Victoria glanced at Jeremy, her eyes puffy and her cheeks were red. The expression on her face was a lot like how Elena looked when their parents died. Maybe if it were anyone else, they might have broken down any moment by now but Victoria was putting up her best act and keeping a blank expression because in a way, he didn't think she could feel anything anymore. She was as dead as the vampires were.

"Come on, Caitlyn, We're leaving," muttered Victoria, her voice just as blank as her face.

Caitlyn looked up from Katherine's body and was confused. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Lucy's staying behind for Bonnie but we're leaving. Come on," she muttered again, looking away from Caitlyn and not bothering to explain further.

Lucy frowned at Victoria and looked at Caitlyn. They both shared a look and after a minute, Caitlyn left the room wordlessly.

Victoria walked up to Jeremy and handed him a folded piece of paper.

Jeremy was just as confused as Caitlyn was. He knew that Victoria was hurting over Dean's death, which was only witnessed by her and Jeremy so the pain was a bit more for her than it would be for Caitlyn but it didn't mean she had to leave. She was beginning to have a life in Mystic Falls. After all those weeks of listening, understanding and even relating to her life story, he couldn't believe that she would just leave.

"Give this to Katherine. Tell her to live her life. Tell her I'll come back one day," Victoria murmured, not looking Jeremy in the eye but looking at the letter.

"You're just going to leave?" asked Jeremy, looking at her dead face.

Still, Victoria didn't look up. She didn't say anything but she did nod.

"And what about Elena? I thought you came here to get to know her," he said, sounding a bit angry.

He personally didn't want her to leave. She understood him and he understood her. They were connected to each other and didn't want to lose the one person who understood him the best. It was like losing a part of him.

Victoria finally looked up into his eyes and snapped. "I said I'll come back one day."

Then Jeremy dropped the whole thing. He didn't want to push the topic and make her even more upset than she already was. She obviously needed time to cool off and pull herself together. If that was what she wanted, then he was going to give it to her without saying anything. After all, who was he to stop her?

"Goodbye Jeremy," she whispered and surprisingly, she kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

Then once Victoria and Caitlyn left, it was even more silent than before, if that was even possible. He looked down at the letter and fought the urge to open it and read it.

"Jeremy…" Bonnie murmured, standing up and walking away from Matt. She walked up to Elena's body and stared at her body. "Something's happening."

Matt glanced around the room from Bonnie to Elena's body to Jeremy and walked over to the bodies, standing close to Rebekah's. Lucy also went over to Bonnie and looked at Elena's body.

"Do you feel that?" She asked the younger witch and Bonnie smiled.

"I can feel their energies. It's growing," said Bonnie and her eyes darted at Jeremy, smiling with a new hope.

**Elena's POV**

In the pitch black place where she was confined in, she could feel her dead senses come back to her slowly. Her eyelashes flickered but she couldn't see anything. It was too dark. Her hands tried to find something; anything but it felt like she was trapped inside a box or something similar. It was small and she was starting to feel a little cluster phobic.

"Is anybody there?" cried Elena, hoping that someone would come. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was looking into Damon's…_Damon. _"Damon!" She screamed and tried to kick the box or whatever she was trapped in to see if she could break it but nothing happened.

Then there was a sudden light and she saw around her four yellow, flower patterned walls. She was no longer in the box but she was standing in a grand room. There was a long mahogany table in the center but there were no chairs around it. An orchid filled, glass vase was on the edge of the table and a glistening chandelier was hanging down from the ceiling, giving the room a golden-yellow glow.

"Hello, Elena Gilbert," said her voice. Although, it wasn't her voice at all.

At the end of the table, near the vase was a young girl who looked exactly like her and Katherine. Everything was exactly the same. She was wearing an old, rag made dress which still looked good on her.

"Who are you?" Elena asked, taking a small step forward.

"Tatia. The first, Petrova doppelganger." The girl or rather Tatia replied, smiling softly.

Elena was shocked by this. Her eyes widened and her back straightened. Why was the first Petrova doppelganger here with Elena? And where were they?

She wondered if this was where the doppelgangers went. Maybe the spell didn't work and she died. But Katherine wasn't here. Then where were they?

"Steady your thoughts, Miss Gilbert. I've only come to give you what you want," spoke Tatia, her voice soft and angelic. It barely sounded like Elena or Katherine. When she spoke, she was an entirely different person, even though she looked exactly like Elena and Katherine.

Tatia began to walk towards Elena, still smiling. She was holding one orchid in her hand and she placed it on the table when she finally reached Elena. "Tell me, Miss Gilbert, and then I'll send you back to your home," started Tatia. The tone in her voice changed a little. It was starting to sound less angelic. "Why do you want to go back to your home? It is lovely here. You are free to do anything you want, whenever you want. This is your haven."

Elena blinked several times. One because of how alike they looked. She still wasn't used to seeing another. Even with Katherine, it was absurd. It was like looking into a mirror.

Two because she was trying to think of a suitable answer or at least an answer she could put into proper words. In her head, all she thought of was pictures. She thought of Jeremy and all the moments they still had to go through, like sending him to college, his first job, getting him married and maybe even having a niece or a nephew.

Her lips twitched into a tiny smile. Then she thought about Bonnie and Caroline, her best friends. They still had much to live for. They were going to go to college together, get through all the messy breakups with ice-cream and movies, they were going to start a business together and be best friends.

The smile grew a bit more. Then she thought of Damon. The life she could have with him, which was almost endless. If she could go back as a human and live her human life with him, then what else could she possibly want?

"No more, Miss Gilbert. I now know why," said Tatia, her eyes were tearing. She took Elena's hand and caressed the back. "Live, Elena. Don't let another moment of your life pass you by. You deserve to live."

Then Tatia kissed Elena's forehead and abruptly, she gasped, her eyes opening.

She was no longer in the yellow walled room but back in the old witch house. Bonnie was leaning down on her.

"Elena!" exclaimed Bonnie and two arms flung around her neck. "You're back!"

Elena smiled and cried at the same time. Jeremy and Matt joined the hug. They embraced her so tightly she couldn't breathe and she was already so breathless. It was no easy thing coming back from the dead.

They let her go and Jeremy sat next to her, holding her free hand. The other one was trapped in Damon's and she couldn't release it, not that she even wanted to. She explained to Bonnie what happened to her and about what she saw. Neither Bonnie nor Lucy knew what to make of it except that she was back and human again.

Matt handed Elena a bottle of water and she gulped down the whole thing. She was extremely parched. She sat on the floor with Jeremy and Bonnie by her sides. They told her about Victoria leaving. She didn't like the idea but when Jeremy told her about Dean, she felt like Victoria needed this time to cool off and to deal with her emotions properly.

Moments later, Caroline and Tyler gasped back to life. They were greeted with the same jolliness and tears that Elena was greeted with. Slowly, the others started to wake up. First Stefan, then Rebekah (which relieved Matt a lot), Katherine and Elijah and lastly Kol. The only person who hadn't woken up was Damon.

"Why hasn't he woken up?" asked Elena, looking up at the others but mostly at Lucy.

Lucy shrugged and bent down. She put his hand on his chest, where his heart was and she pressed it slowly, saying a spell. Nothing happened and Lucy was surprised by it.

"I…I don't know," stuttered Lucy, unable to even look at Elena.

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at the grey, lifeless body of Damon, which was still gorgeous.

"Damon?" whispered Elena, leaning down on him and moving the hair off his forehead. "Wake up. Please Damon, wake up."

Everyone looked at Elena sympathetically. There was no explanation as to why Damon was the only one who hadn't come back. He did everything everyone else did. There was no reason that they thought possible as to why he wasn't waking up.

Elena sobbed and Stefan sat down next to her, holding her shoulders for support.

"Come back, Damon! Please!" Elena screamed and cried. She sobbed even more, making everyone look at her with even more pity. There were so many tears falling so fast that was she making Damon's shirt a little wet. "Come back to me, Damon! Please! Wake up, Damon. Wake up."

**Damon's POV**

Twisting the annoyingly large silver, lapis lazuli ring on his finger, Damon looked down at his tumbler filled with bourbon. He was in Mystic Grill, sitting in his usual seat and the usual people were around as well. Except on both his sides were two people that he never expected to see ever again.

"Hello, Damon," said Alaric, drinking his own poison.

"Hello, Damon," said Rose with her English accent, smiling flirtatiously.

Damon's lips parted and he looked back and forth at them. He couldn't believe it. They were both dead and he knew that better than anyone because they both died in his arms and yet, they were sitting in Mystic Grill with him, having a drink in the afternoon.

Rose looked at Alaric, smiling. "He's confused."

"I don't blame him. I would be too," replied Alaric and then they both looked at Damon, smiling again.

Damon closed his eyes and thought of it all as a dream but when he closed his eyes, he remembered what happened before he ended up in the bar. They died, all the vampires, in the witch basement. _Elena. _

"Okay, Damon," started Rose, pulling the tumbler out of his hand and taking down his drink. "This is how it is." She put down the glass and one of the bartenders poured another one for you. "This is your haven." She spread her arms out, gesturing around the Grill and all the people inside.

"My what?" Damon asked, raising both his eyebrows in absolute disbelief. He could believe in the possibility of coming back from the dead as a human after 145 years but a haven? What was he in, a vampire protection programme?

"Haven, place of safety, sanctuary, whatever you want to call it," said Rose, rolling her eyes and shrugging.

Damon looked at Alaric, hoping that at least he wouldn't kid around but no luck there.

"She's telling the truth, Damon. You died in a bizarre way, trying to go back to the world as a human so you go to a Haven." Alaric justified Rose and finished his drink. "Basically, you are now in between worlds."

Damon raised his eyebrows again, hoping that one of them would elaborate what 'in between worlds' was. They weren't giving them full explanations. All they were doing was confusing him.

Alaric understood the confusion. "You're in between 'the other side' and earth. Because of the spell, you're free to choose where you want to go." He cleared up all the confusion and Damon understood.

"Well you know where I want to go Ric. Back home, to Elena, to earth," answered Damon, jumping off the stool.

Suddenly, all the eyes in the bar where on him. They stared suspiciously, like as if they knew a big secret about him and judged him openly.

Half-scared and once more confused, Damon turned back around and glanced at Rose and Ric. "So, how do I get the hell out of here?" He asked, clapping his hands together. Then the eyes stopped looking at him. They went back to whatever they were doing.

"Tell us why you want to go back," Rose told him, smacking her lips together and turning around on her stool to get a good look at Damon.

Alaric did the same but he was holding a full glass of bourbon in his hands.

"You know why I want to go back," stated Damon.

They had to know. How could they not? He secretly talked about it everyday because he knew that both Ric and Rose were around him. They were still listening. The only reason why he wanted to go back was because of Elena. The chance to have a life with her was the only reason he needed.

"Not good enough, Damon," said Alaric, out of the blue. "Elena's not a good enough reason for you."

"Hundred and forty five years of killings and all, you've got a lot to make up for and 'true love'-" Rose followed, quoting with her fingers as she said, 'true love.' "Isn't going to cut it. You need something more or else the witches won't feel obliged to send you back."

_Are you fucking kidding me? _Thought Damon and he cursed the witches. Of course they would try to pull something like this. Anything to make Damon Salvatore suffer.

Sitting back on the stool in between Alaric and Rose, Damon thought, sincerely, about all the reasons why he wanted to go back to Mystic Falls.

One was the chance to be human again. He wouldn't have to constantly control his blood lust. Even though he was good at controlling it as a vampire, it was still there, nagging him all the time when he was a vampire. If he went back, as a human, it wouldn't be there.

Stefan…If he got to go back, then he would get the chance to do right by their rocky relationship. He would get the chance to fix all the wrongs with them and he would get to be a brother all over again. He wanted that. Especially after the conversations they had been having lately, he realized how much he really needed and missed his little brother.

To live, to grow old, to actually die. Now that, in a strange way, was something that he wanted. He lived for a 145 years, now he wanted to grow old and maybe be married to the woman he loved, have a couple of mini Salvatore-Gilberts running around and to (in the most cliché way) sit on a rocking chair on a porch with Elena in their old age. He wanted that. Oh god, he wanted that so much.

It wasn't just about Elena. It was about getting back what he lost.

"Damon," said a serious Alaric. He took Damon's hand and Rose took the other. "If they let you go back, you have to promise me that you'll make up for all the lives you took by taking care of everyone back in Mystic Falls, as in Elena, Caroline, Sherriff Forbes, Meredith, all of them. You have to do everything in your power to make sure that they are safe. Vampire or not, you need to do that. They are your responsibility."

"So now I have to look after the kids?" Damon asked, annoyed.

"Especially Jeremy and Bonnie. You have to be there," added Alaric.

"Consider this your punishment and reward," said Rose, smirking.

Damon glared at her for a moment before returning to Alaric. "Fine. I'll take care of them."

Alaric smiled, pleased that Damon said yes and both Ric and Rose hugged Damon. He wanted to hug them back but before that, he was sent back.

He woke up with a gasp and saw a distraught Elena crying beside him and a nearly broken down Stefan.

"Damon," cried Elena, jumping on him with a surprise hug. Stefan also joined, hugging them both. "You came back!" She exclaimed, still crying but now they were tears of joy.

They let go after a couple of minutes and Damon wiped away Elena's tears. "I promised you that we would survive, didn't I?"

Elena chuckled and nodded. "We always survive." She quoted herself from a month or two back. She then kissed him and he kissed her back. His first human kiss in the longest of times. He smiled in between the kiss and they let go because of the audience around them.

Elena, Damon and Stefan stood up. He had to explain to the rest of them what happened to him. He told them the whole story, excluding the part where he promised to take care of everyone.

Apparently, it happened to everyone else. They went to a familiar place and they met someone close to them, in Damon's case, two people close to them.

Caroline was at a park where her dad and mom used to go when she was very young. She saw her dad.

Tyler was at his house and saw Mason. Stefan went to the Bon Jovi concert and saw Lexi. Katherine and Elena saw Tatia in a yellow walled room, it was most likely a doppelganger thing.

Elijah was by a tree he used to meet Tatia at and saw Tatia as well. Rebekah saw Matt at Mystic Falls High School and Kol was at the Mikaelson house and saw Rebekah.

Everyone had to give their reasons as why they should be sent back. Bonnie and Lucy assumed that the witches just wanted to know if they were worthy of getting the chance others didn't get. Damon saw this as a fair way.

He looked at Jeremy and then Bonnie, remembering his promise to Alaric and Rose to take care of them. _Thanks buddy. At least I got the girl. _

After some hugs, handshakes and kisses with each other, they all went up to go home. It had been a _very _long day and everyone needed a good night's rest. After all, tomorrow, they could truly go back to their lives, as humans.

It felt strange thinking that he was human. It had been so long since he was human and to be back again, it was unbelievably relieving. He smiled, walking to his car.

Elena, Jeremy and Stefan were next to Damon. They were his family now and this time, he wasn't going to fuck things up. He was going to do right by all of them and he was going to be a better person. 'Cause after all, you don't get the chance to be human again everyday.

Stefan and Jeremy got into the car and Elena stopped Damon as he tried to open the passenger's seat for her.

"Here," she said and she took his hand, placing the ring he gave her on his palm.

He looked down at it and then up at a smiling Elena. She seemed so happy and glowing.

"This is yours, Elena," he told her.

Elena's smile grew and her head tilted, reminding him of the night they first met. "Someday, when we're both ready, you can give that ring back to me on a very special occasion," she answered and winked at him. Then she slipped into the car.

It took Damon at least half a minute to understand what she was implying. _Yes Elena, that day truly will be special. _He smirked and got into the car.

He turned the car and sprung the car into life. Everyone in the car was smiling and they listened to the radio, singing along, driving off into the sunrise.

**_Six years later. _**

**Katherine's POV**

"Elena!" She called out as loudly as possible so that Elena would hear her. It was too bad none of them had super hearing anymore. Now yelling sort of became essential but it at least they could whisper and talk secretly without being heard.

"Yes, Katherine?" asked Elena, appearing out from the lobby with a smile on her face.

Katherine smiled back at her, for two reasons. One that she had changed into the dazzling mini dress with a silk bodice and a metallic tweed skirt and also because of how helpful she was being.

"I think Caroline's here, could you please get the door?" asked Katherine and yet, with another smile, Elena walked off to the front door.

It was Elijah's birthday and they were having a little party, much to his despise but he didn't know just yet. He was out with Damon and Stefan, most likely discussing some business matter over some drinks.

In the last six years, Damon, Elijah and Kol started up a Public Relations firm in Mystic Falls, which was going pretty well for them. When Stefan finished school and graduated Harvard University, he joined them. But that wasn't all that happened in the last six years.

Katherine looked down at her large belly, patting it lightly. Elijah and Katherine got married nearly after a month of being human, not wanting to lose another second without being together, officially. Now she was pregnant with their second child. They had a five year old son, Nicolas. This time, they were having a beautiful baby girl. _One more month before popping this one out, _thought Katherine.

She looked up when Caroline, Tyler and Elena walked into the room.

"Katherine! You look fabulous!" stated Caroline, sitting down next to Katherine and taking a good look at her belly. She bit her lip, smiling and hugged Katherine.

A lot of things changed in the last six years. Everyone was suddenly friends or rather a family. They were a big, happy family. Of course, like every family, they all had their differences. Like for the fact that Bonnie still didn't like Katherine very much and the feeling was mutual but if anything ever happened, they would still be there for each other.

Same thing with Rebekah and Elena. They still bickered but got along occasionally. It was a good thing though. As long as they were together, that was all that truly mattered.

**Caroline's POV**

***A couple of minutes earlier***

She pressed the door bell for the third time and Elena swung open the door, grinning.

"Hey, Care," exclaimed Elena, hugging her and smiling at Tyler.

Caroline pulled away from the hug and looked at Elena. "Oh my god. Lena, look at how toned you are!" She said and Elena blushed a little.

"Well you don't look so bad yourself, Caroline. I'm assuming your honeymoon was very enjoyable," said Elena, smirking at the couple.

It was Caroline's turn to blush. It had only been a few days since Caroline and Tyler got back from their honeymoon and only a month since they got married. It was bound to happen and she was more than happy. Now she could spend the rest of her _human _life with the man she loved.

With a few more smiles, they went into the living room where Katherine was looking down at her pregnant belly, wearing a beautiful silk, fawn colored soiree dress. She was one of those lucky people who didn't gain too much weight.

"Katherine! You look fabulous!" stated Caroline, sitting down next to Katherine and taking a good look at her belly.

Caroline hoped that one day; she would have kids as well. She looked up at Tyler suggestively and he gave her unsure look, understanding what she meant. Of course, that one day was going to take time to get to. Either way, she was still profusely happy.

**Elena's POV**

Elena gazed at Katherine and Caroline, who were talking about the dresses they were wearing and how much Katherine adored Caroline's shoes.

In the past six years, they had to come up with a few lies about Katherine. Fortunately, Kol had a few connections so the lies were a bit more believable. As far as the rest of the town knew, Katherine was Elena's long lost _twin _sister who was discovered by Elijah while he was on a business trip. It took everyone a lot of getting used to but by now, everyone knew who Katherine was and they were all pretty good at differentiating between the two. That was always a good thing.

But the lie was less of a lie now. Elena and Katherine put their past to bed and started to get along, especially since Elijah was working with Damon. That meant business dinners at each other's houses and with Katherine have Nicolas and now her second child, they might as well been long lost sisters. They were so close that Katherine made Elena and Rebekah Nicolas's godmothers.

Elena heard the door bell ring and without interrupting Katherine and Caroline, she dashed off to answer. It was Bonnie.

"Hey!" said Bonnie, giving Elena a one arm hug because her other hand was carrying a large box. "I got the cake."

Bonnie was also doing well. She graduated from UCLA (she wanted to get as far from Mystic Falls for a while) and opened up a bakery because that was what she loved. She made the best cakes and pastries in town. Everyone loved them and that meant her business was going well. Elena helped sometimes, especially if Bonnie had a big event but Elena's main job was being a full time writer.

She really did it. While she was still in college, Elena wrote her first book about a young girl who lost her parents and the struggles that she had to face. It was a big hit nationwide and then she just kept on writing. It kept her sane and helped her forget about the whole vampire thing from her past.

"Let me go put this in the kitchen," said Elena, taking the box from her hand and letting Bonnie visit Katherine and Caroline.

As Elena entered the kitchen, Lucy and Caitlyn were busy cooking and setting plates.

Lucy was still working as the history teacher at the high school but this was her last year before she would start working at the college Jenna went to.

Caitlyn also came back a year after the spell. Victoria didn't come back though. She was attending NYU with Jeremy then. Caitlyn worked with Bonnie at the bakery.

"If that's the cake, could you please put that in the fridge, Lena?" asked Caitlyn and Elena nodded, placing the cake in the fridge.

Then she left the women to their work, returning to the living room. They didn't like having other people in their kitchen.

Now Jeremy was also in the living room, with Nicolas.

"Aunt Elena!" exclaimed Nicolas, running towards her and hugging her legs.

"Hey Nic," she said, bending down to his height and giving him a hug as well. Then as she pulled away, she took out a chocolate from his ear.

Nicolas took the chocolate from Elena's hand, a shocked expression on his face. "This is why you're my favorite aunt!" He exclaimed, giving her a big, wet kiss on the cheek.

She smiled and hugged him once more. "And you're my favorite godson!" She told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Then a voice interrupted their little moment, dampening Elena's mood a little. "Are you sure she's your favorite, Nic?" It was Rebekah. She was holding a small box and a tiny bag in her hands. "Well then, I guess I'll have to give this box of chocolates to someone else."

Instantly, Nic stormed away from Elena to Rebekah and hugged her legs tightly, almost making Rebekah fall. "You're my favorite, Aunt Rebekah!" He switched his favorite and happily accepted the box of chocolates.

Of course Rebekah would do something like that. Elena stood up and neatened the skirt of the dress. She tried to smile and greeted Rebekah politely, keeping a cool face. "Hello Rebekah. So glad to see you."

"Feeling is always mutual, Elena," murmured Rebekah, smiling as well but you could feel the tension between the two women, which was luckily disrupted by Matt.

"You should go see if Lucy and Caitlyn need any help, Bekah," he said, holding her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

She looked at him and pecked him on the cheek before going off.

Then Matt came over to Elena, giving her a brief but sweet hug.

Things became better for Matt as well. He went to college and he became the school's new football coach. Also, he and Rebekah really hit it off. They were living together, extremely happily and they were also opening a restaurant up together because apparently Rebekah didn't have much to do in a small town like this.

Elena cracked another smile and looked down at the ground. Things really worked out well for everyone.

And with that thought, she heard her favorite voice in the world. "Damon," she whispered out loud, sub-consciously and walked slowly towards the door.

Damon, Stefan and Elijah walked in through the door and everyone in the living room gathered around the entrance of the living room. Elena heard Lucy, Rebekah and Caitlyn dash out of the kitchen as well.

Elijah was blind folded while Stefan and Damon led him to the living room. He looked so nervous, his face all sweaty and biting his lip a little.

"We're almost there bud," said Stefan and then they stopped in the middle of the living room. Damon turned him around and pulled the blindfold off.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Elijah's mouth dropped to the floor and he looked from face to face. Elena giggled at his expression, walking up to Katherine and giving her some help to get to Elijah. Katherine's feet were a bit swollen and she found it hard to walk sometimes.

"Happy birthday," whispered Katherine and they kissed for a moment.

Then Elijah looked back at everyone else, nodded and thanked them all. "Thank you." He nodded once more and let out a breathy laugh.

Elijah helped Katherine sit down and the group subsided, separating to talk amongst themselves. Nicolas was also with Katherine and Elijah, pressing his ear against Katherine's stomach. It sort of made Elena jealous because she always wanted to have a family like that but Damon wasn't even anywhere near proposing to her so she tried not to think about it too much.

"Hey," said Damon, grabbing her hips and giving her a soft kiss that roughened a bit.

"Not here," whispered Elena in between the kiss, pushing him away and rolling her eyes but smiling afterwards.

Damon stood by her with his arm around her waist and he told her about how they distracted Elijah. They took him to their office and discussed the new deal they were making with a client in New York. Apparently this was supposed to be one of the biggest deals ever and Damon was pretty excited about it. She was happy for him but his work sometimes got in the way of their relationship.

And not to mention how supportive and fatherly like he was being to Jeremy and Bonnie. In the past six years, Damon provided for Jeremy and did everything for him. He was there through most of Jeremy's troubles, happiness and everything else that came between. Same thing went for Bonnie. She was a little bipolar after the spell thing, especially since she wasn't using magic anymore. She said she couldn't do it. She felt guilty for what happened to Dean but Damon convinced her that it was okay and that with magic, all she had to do was good. He was being such a good person now but that didn't mean he was completely changed.

Oh no, Damon was still cocky, stubborn, sarcastic, jealous, hot headed and absolutely amazing. The only thing was that now, he let everyone see the good in him.

Elena glanced up at his face as he observed Katherine, Elijah and Nicolas. _One day, Damon, that'll be us. _

**Damon's POV**

His lips twitched into a smile and he put his hand in his pocket, feeling the cold, circular metal in his fingers. He sighed and kept his smile again. _Today's the day, Elena. _

Damon glanced at her and the nervousness grew in him. He was really going to do this. It was about time. Six years was long enough but there were other things he needed to do before he could actually make the biggest decision of his life: officially make Elena his.

Firstly, he needed to make sure that he could provide a living for both of them, not to mention Jeremy as well. Secondly, he had to keep his promise to Ric about taking good care of Jeremy and Bonnie and now, they were both great on their own. Thirdly, he had to prepare himself for this. He needed to know himself that he could be married to Elena till death parted them, that he could raise kids and give them part of the life he missed out on, to be the best dad ever. He wanted to be sure and now he was.

"I'll be right back," said Damon to Elena and he kissed her temple before struggling to Stefan, who was flirting with Caitlyn. He rolled his eyes at his brothers flirting attempts. It was so clear that the two were attracted to each other but Stefan was shy and Caitlyn was a bit of a rollercoaster, you never know what she'll do next.

"Brother, can I have a word?" He asked and Caitlyn walked away with a smile at Stefan.

"What is it?" asked Stefan, glancing at Caitlyn once before giving his undivided attention to Damon.

"I need you to distract everyone for a while," said Damon, keeping his voice at an all time low. He couldn't have anyone find out about this and babble it all to Elena. It had to be a surprise.

Stefan raised a brow and asked, "Are you going to…" And he stopped there because a certain voice halted everyone's conversation.

"I am so sorry that I'm late!" Victoria cried from the front entrance, which Jeremy opened.

"She couldn't get herself ready in time." Damon heard Kol say from around there and the three of them entered the living room.

Victoria's arm was clinging to Kol's and Jeremy awkwardly stepped away from them, joining the others in the living room. The two stood there for a moment, grinning at everyone before Victoria jumped towards Katherine.

_Well this helps me, _thought Damon with a smirk. Victoria was the greatest distraction he would need.

Damon nudged Stefan in the shoulder and he replied with a nod, understanding what Damon had to do. Then Damon walked back to Elena, took her hand and silently slipped out of the house, unnoticed by the others.

**Victoria's POV**

"Oh Kat! Look at your belly. I can't believe you're having your second baby!" Victoria exclaimed, her hands on Katherine's belly. She was hoping to feel a kick or something. This was one of the beautiful things in her opinion.

Katherine smiled, looking down at her belly, glowing. Elijah was standing next to Kol and they gazed at the two women who they both loved so much.

"Well believe it and tell me why you were late!" Katherine demanded.

Victoria looked down, blushing. She thought about the events before she arrived at the house and they sent a rush down in her. "We, um, got a little carried away," she answered, not looking Katherine in the eye.

"Victoria Hemingway!" cried Katherine, grabbing her arm with a quiet gasp.

"What?" said Victoria, raising her eyebrows and taking a quick glimpse at Kol.

Victoria herself wasn't sure how she managed to get herself involved with the 1000 year old, ex-original vampire. It was three years ago. She was driving from campus to Caitlyn's apartment when she saw the all too familiar man with a bloody face. She offered to take him back to the hospital, which he refused so she took him back to the apartment and cleaned him up. He recognized her and told her what happened; he forgot that he wasn't a vampire anymore and got into a fight with some guy at a bar. Then she didn't know, after that day, something clicked or whatever and they started dating. It was the first time since Dean that she could feel anything at all.

She stopped hunting over a year after Dean's second death. She started at NYU with Jeremy and was now an intern at Mystic Falls Hospital. She needed to do something good with her life. Take a complete different route from what she had been doing. Most her life, she was killing people or rather vampires but now, she was going to save lives. Nothing could be better than that. But that didn't stop her from going on a few hunts during the holidays.

**Elena's POV**

With a red blindfold over her eyes, she couldn't tell exactly where they were going. Damon had just dragged her out of the party, trying to go unnoticed to some mysterious, special place or that's how he said it was. He didn't even give her an explanation as to what they were going to do. She felt her stomach turn and her heart race; whatever it was, it was starting to excite her.

"So are we there yet?" Elena asked, turning her head to his direction even though she couldn't see him.

Damon took her hand and kissed her painted fingernails. "Just a few more minutes," replied Damon, his voice all mystifying and that made her skin crawl.

Elena just sighed and leaned her head back. She didn't know what else to do but wait. He obviously wasn't going to give her any answers so she would just have to sit tight and wait to get to wherever they were going to.

Her mind drifted to a series of thoughts that connected to each other strangely. She thought about her parents, then Aunt Jenna, John, Alaric...She thought about the first time she met Stefan. No, not the time when he saved her in the car, the time outside the bathroom. She cracked a smile. That encounter changed her life. Stefan came into her life and opened several new doors for her to explore. Then things changed in her life. She changed. It changed lives.

They discovered Bonnie's a witch. Stefan and Damon Salvatore were 145 year old vampires. Katherine Pierce looked like her. She found out she was adopted and that her birth mother was a vampire and her real father was her uncle. Caroline turned into a vampire. Elena turned out to be a doppelgänger. Tyler was a werewolf. There were Original vampires and hybrids. She discovered things that she once believed to be only in books, television shows and some really bad movies. It was unreal but she lived through it all. She went through it all and sometimes, even now, it was so hard to believe. Actually, it was harder to believe now. The whole supernatural thing that existed among them was Bonnie but she rarely ever used her magic. Then there was Victoria, who was time to time go on a few hunts because surprisingly, there were still a few vampires left. Whenever she thought about six years ago, it all felt like somewhat of a past life. And maybe it was. She died and came back, twice. She started anew so yeah, it was a past life.

Another smile and then Elena felt the car stop. She lifted her head up and looked around only to remember that she was blinded at the moment.

"Impatient," Damon said and she heard him get out of the car. She knew that he was coming to open the door for her so she waited.

Then when the door opened, Elena held Damon's hand so he could guide her to where they were going.

"I promise it'll be a short walk," said Damon and they began to walk. She still couldn't tell where they were. There was a chill breeze, birds chirping, trees rustling but they weren't in the woods, she knew that but then where else.

Then she heard something else. Water, moving water. The bridge, she thought.

"Damon," murmured Elena, unexcited about being at the bridge.

The last time she was on the bridge was when she came back to town, which was a long time ago and even that time, someone drove her. She had her eyes closed whenever she crossed the bridge. It was the only thing that reminded her of what she had been, of her past life.

Damon pulled the blindfold off and they were standing near the railing. "Damon," she murmured again but he didn't bother to say anything else. He obviously had much bigger plans.

He was still holding her hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze. They stared out at the setting sun. With the violets, oranges, yellows and light pinks smeared across the sky and at the edges of the puffy clouds, it was a really beautiful sunset.

"I know you've had a lot of bad memories on this bridge, Elena," Damon began to speak. His voice was velvet and it was a little tense, filled with a slight nervousness.

"Damon, don't go there," she told him, turning and shaking her head. She put her hand on his chest and shook her head once more.

Damon took both her hands and held them together. "No, just listen to me." He told her and gave a small smile. "Your parents and you. Those were hard memories for you and I know how much you hate thinking about it and how much you hate this stupid bridge." He went on about the most obvious things.

He suddenly let go of her hands and put his hands in his pockets. Elena raised an eyebrow and looked at him, waiting for him to go on but he didn't say anything else for a while. He was thinking of what else to say.

"So you know what, I want to change that. I don't want you to hate this bridge and close your eyes every time you cross it. So you know what Elena Gilbert - " Then he took out something from his pocket, something small which she couldn't perceive and he got down on one knee, making her gasp and step back a little. "Say yes to marrying me and hopefully, this bridge will remind of one of the best day of your life." Damon held the ring that he gave her when she turned and she contemplated for a fraction of a second on how beautiful it was and how she felt.

Elena bubbled up, her eyes tearing and her entire body lighting up. "Yes."

Damon put the ring on her ring finger and stood up, lifting her up. He kissed her passionately and he hugged her, his arms wrapped around her waist. "I love you, Elena."

"I love you too, Damon," she whispered into his ear and pulled him away from her so that she had easy access to kiss him. She didn't hold back and let out all her love into that one kiss. It had everything in that first kiss when she thought he was dying, that second kiss when he kissed her, that third kiss when she kissed him in the motel and these new feelings of sheer happiness and that satisfaction of getting all that she desired after the longest of times.

Elena grinned gladly and she knew for the first time without a doubt in the world that everything was really going to be okay and even if it turned out to be bad, she had everything that could assure her that everything was really going to be okay.

**So um, yeah. That's it. Wow, I'm sort of relieved to be done with this. I had fun writing it. I really did. I hope I finished it off well. I'm pretty sure I made all the characters extremely OOC but hey, what's done is done. Thank you, all of you for reading. Especially you guys who reviewed. And everyone else, I'm glad you stuck around to read. You guys are amazing. Leave your last reviews (: **


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